Fire and Poison
by emyy250
Summary: The Phoenix and Nightshade have always been flirty enemies. So, what happens if Nightshade decides she's interested in him for real? This is the Superhero AU I made on Tumblr with jaynefray/Nina Vale. Zhante centric
1. Chapter 1

Flashforward

Third Person

Nightshade laughed and punched a security guard out. The boys stuffed the bags with money at super speed. Looks like Venice's hero was busy. She took the jewelry from the women to pick through later. Maybe one of them had taste. A orange fireball burned her hand and made her drop the bag she had.

"Figures I'd never be so lucky." She muttered and faced the hero, well, hero and sidekicks.

"Hi, can you stop stealing now and go to jail quietly?" The boy sidekick waved at them. He always tried to ask them to stop, but it never worked. Why did he still ask?

"No, Puppy, we won't and never will go quietly." The green and black clad villain sighed.

"Aw." The room was filled with his disappointment. It still felt weird to feel to have her emotions change because of the boy. She shook it off and looked at her enemy.

The auburn haired man named The Phoenix scowled. Such a look would have made a lesser villain tremble, but she was not only the best, she was his archenemy. She gave an unfazed smile. He pretended not to notice.

"Take the brothers. She's mine." He told his allies. He ran to her and jabbed her in the side.

"I'm yours, huh?" She smirked while setting her fist her ablaze with plasma.

"That's not what I meant." The superhero said and dodged the punch.

"So, that doesn't that mean you're mine?" She ignored his statement and attempted to hit him again.

"It could if you weren't evil." He smiled as he jumped away to get distance.

"Even after all we've been through and you still resist our chemistry?" She feinted a plasma sweep and hit him with a small ball. It got his leg.

"If that means living, I'll gladly skip falling for you." He grimaced in pain.

"Those men were boring. You're not." She was caught by a fireball to the chest.

"I'm not really surprised you found them boring." The masked man used the opening to injure her with a hard kick to the ribs and attempt to break her throwing arm when she slipped out of his grasp.

"You're getting a little rough now. And here I thought you'd be a gentle lover." She quipped then tried to uppercut him.

"I figured you liked that." The Phoenix snarked and rubbed his chin when he was far enough away. There was a tense second before Nightshade went back at him and he knocked her to the ground. She took him down with her.

They grappled with each other and the blue haired villainess looked like she was winning, having gotten more hits in than the hero, but then he jabbed her in the throat and retaliated while she was struggling to recover and tied her up. She seemed a little shocked, but a small smile covered it up quickly. The man decided it was nothing too worrying yet. She pulled this move a lot.

"I hate heroes and I hate you!" One of the villain's tied up sidekicks yelled. The girl sidekick shushed him and gagged him roughly.

"Did you have to do it like that?" The boy asked his teammate.

"He's not hurt." She retorted.

"But-" He started.

"They're villains. We're good guys. They'll hurt us if they get the chance so we don't let them. Right?" She waited.

"Right." He sighed and kept an eye on the villains they tied up until the police came.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

The journal part 1

A month ago

Lok's POV

"I'm so sorry, Lok. Was that-" Sophie saw the funny symboled journal and picked it up. I picked up the crystal necklace. It looked like there was a carving in it, but I couldn't tell. It sparkled a little in the light.

"This is weird." I put it on my neck and looked at Sophie. She was looking through the journal.

"This symbol, I've seen in somewhere before," She flipped through the pages, "Leonardo Da Vinci's sketches?"

"What's this stuff?" I asked.

"This journal is amazing." She didn't answer.

"They're like blueprints, right?" I looked at a page.

"Mostly. Do you know what this means?" She looked at me.

"No, yes, maybe." I smirked.

"Right, we need the help of Dante Vale, a local expert on superheroes." She replied, unamused.

"How do you know- Nevermind. Let's clean this up before anyone steps on it." I got the trash can.

She dumped the pieces she picked up and was going to pick up another one when she stopped, "What's wrong, Sophie?"

"If you have this, then someone in your family must a superhero!" She looked at me incredulously. Then a person jumped through the window. Sophie covered us with a blanket from the glass. The man in the suit held a hand and a blue light appeared in his hand.

"Who's that? A villain?" I panicked a tiny bit.

"It's a henchmen. He's dangerous though." She pulled us out of the way of the power. I got up and shot a yellow beam at him and he landed against the wall.

"What's going on?" I asked Sophie.

"Sir, you're not going to believe this, but we have the boy. Yes, he shot me into a wall. New orders. Get the journal and the kid!" He told the other suits. They nodded.

"We have to go! I can't protect you here." Sophie shot the suit blocking the door with a red laser and we ran outside. We were blocked in an alley by more suits though they weren't looking at us yet.

"What'd we do?" I looked at her.

"Go find Dante Vale. He's the only one we can trust. Now, run on my mark." She walked closer and called to them, "Looking for me?" They grabbed her and didn't notice me. She saw my unwillingness, "Go, Lok, I can take care of myself. Now!"

I ran and slipped away from all the suits. I was on the balcony of a pretty building. I flipped through the journal. There were lots of blueprints of weapons and devices, but the entries were cool. They were recordings of fights with old villains. I guess the author of this journal was part of a superhero team.

"What have you got there, friend?" A squeaky voice from behind asked.

"Who's there? Who said that?" I asked.

"Just looking for someone to talk to. I saw you running from those goons so I figured you for a friend." It said.

"If not liking those psychos is all it takes, we'll get along just fine." I said.

"Great!"

"Do you wanna come out now? I'd like a friend." I told the voice.

"I'm not supposed to be out during daylight. Everyone will be mad at me." It sounded sad.

"I must be hearing things." I muttered to myself.

"Friend, what's that book you have?" I stopped walking and stood still for it to see the cover.

"It's a journal. It's pretty cool. I think a superhero wrote it." I told it.

"A hero, you say? It's a long time since I've heard of any heroics." It sighed wistfully.

"Yeah? I'll read some to you. That'll be fun, right?" I read the passage I was on. The author and his team were fighting a supervillain who could drink blood and gain the victim's powers. The squeaky voice went quiet.

"They win by using the new weapon he made. A gun that took out all the fluid out of the body. I know this story." It said suddenly.

"What? How?" I skimmed the rest and found that it was right, "You're right."

"How does he feel? I never heard that part. They always say- But I never believed he would want hurt anybody. Kill anybody." It hoped.

"Um, it says that he, uh, destroyed the gun and the blueprints. He felt pretty bad about it. He took a vacation after that. And met another superhero named Solarflare. It gets mushy and they kiss." I made a face.

"How do they meet?!" It asked excitedly. I read that to satisfy the voice.

The hero was saving somebody from a mugging when Solarflare came along and helped him tie up the mugger. She asked why he was there and he said he was vacation and suggested that maybe she could show him around. She says only if they don't don't have fight crime to do it. He laughs and tells her she's pretty. Then she smacks him and tells him to stop. He says they should go get something to eat and go look around. They kiss on the walk in the park.

"Aw, that was- Look out!" A blue light almost hit me, but I ducked and ran to the end of the balcony and jumped off it. Then I kinda floated to the the nearest roof. The suits were still following me so I had keep jumping and always landed ok.

"Wow," I breathed as I landed on a bridge, "What's happening to me?" I tried to run away, but some suits blocked the way.

"Kid, give us the book and give yourself." One of them snarled. I got on the railing and was about to jump off when someone grabbed my leg. I wobbled and almost let go of the journal.

"Why don't let the boy go?" A strong, confident voice asked. Then I got pushed and started falling when someone saved me. I looked and it was The Phoenix! "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, but my friend, she's still out there. The suits grabbed her. I couldn't help. I'm supposed to get this journal to Dante Vale. He's a local superhero expert. But I guess you could see it." I thought.

"I know Dante. We did some interviews. I can take you to his house before I get your friend. What's her name?" He asked.

"Sophie Casterwill. She has light brown hair and green eyes." I told him.

He flew and took me to a brown house with 2, maybe 3, stories, "I'll go first. I need to explain what's going on." I waited outside, watching carefully.

Then the door opened and a man with auburn hair and a yellow trench coat let me inside. We went to the living room and I sat on the couch, "The Phoenix told me the Organization is after you because of a journal."

"The what? All I know is a bunch of weirdos are chasing me and want this." I handed him the journal.

He looked through it and nodded, "This does seem authentic. The blueprints are amazingly through."

"Do you know who wrote it?" I asked.

"Let's see," He flipped to the front cover and looked inside, "It says it belongs to The Guardain. The Guardain? He's been missing for 10 years! Where did you find this?" He asked seriously.

"I found it! In, in a statue my dad gave me. There was this necklace too." I took it off and handed it to him.

He held it up to the light and and squinted, "I need to go make some calls about this. Stay here and watch TV or something. Don't let anyone in, ok?" He got up and took the things with him.

Lok's POV End

Dante's POV

I put the journal and necklace in my safe and took off my clothes to "get" back into my supersuit. I put my boots on then my mask. I had to go find that Sophie girl. I had already took a lot of time on the journal. I went to the roof and took off, flying around looking for girl with suits.

"I am not a child! I am the Red Angel!" A young girl in a red supersuit. The suits shot at her, but she used a shield. I never seen a shield like hers. It had enough room for a few people. Then she shot lasers at them, getting a couple. I saw a monster behind her. Are they that desperate? I shot a series of fireballs at it and it screeched in pain.

"The Phoenix's here!" One of them pointed at me.

"The Phoenix?" She glanced up and then had to block a blue ice beam.

I landed and fought the monster. It didn't like my fire so I used that to my advantage. Its long claws gleamed with something probably dangerous. It swiped at me, but I ducked and landed a kick on one its kneecaps, making it bend backward. It crumpled.

"Let go!" Red Angel was struggling to move after they swarmed her. I helped fight them off and they scurried off.

"Hello, Phoenix. I'm glad you helped me." She smiled.

"Of course. Would you have happened to see a girl running from suits? She has light brown hair and green eyes. Sophie Casterwill." I asked.

"I helped her get away, but I didn't see where she went. I'll help you look." She offered.

"Thank you, Angel." I smiled at her and she nearly melted. We decided we'd sent a few lasers or fireballs into the air when we found Sophie. She went south and I went east, though I kept an eye out Angel's way.

After awhile, I saw three lasers, one after the another, and followed them. There Sophie was, waiting near a cafe. The Red Angel was missing though. I thought I made it clear she was in danger.

"Um, hi. The Red Angel said you were trying to find me. How did you know my name? If that's ok." She was flustered.

"Your friend told me you needed help. I can take you to him. He's safe." I told her.

"I'd like that." I picked her and we flew to my house. I let her go inside and went to the roof and changed completely out of my super suit and into another one. It was getting nasty. Then I put my normal clothes on and went downstairs.

Dante's POV End


	3. Chapter 3

**Warning: Attempted C** **anibalism**

Chapter 2

Robbery Gone Wrong

A month ago

Den's POV

"Almost, there. Told you I'd get us in." Harrison unlocked the door from the inside and let me in. We looked around and found the kitchen. It was loaded with food. I heard a scratching somewhere in the hall.

"We should hurry. I don't like this place." I stuffed some food in my bag.

"Lemme find some stuff to sell." Harrison quickly went from room to room and brought back a half filled bag.

"You're not going to do anything, brats." A cold voice hissed and then Nightshade appeared. I went for the window and a green laser got me in the leg.

"Den!" My brother yelled and ran at the villain. He tried to punch her, but she vanished and hit Harrison with a poisonous plasma ball. He yelped and tried to get the poison out by vibrating his body, but he had to running as well to avoid the evil lady's attacks.

I felt something on my chest and it was a light green chameleon with white spots on its body, really sharp, long claws on its front legs and long, blue fins on its back with smaller ones on its tail. It had yellow eyes and small, sharp teeth. It hissed at me. I stayed put.

"You won't get your brother back like that!" She yelled.

"Harrison, she's taunting you! I'll be ok. Go!" I shouted. He went for the door when I heard a thud.

"I'm sorry." He gasped.

"You don't even know how right you are." Nightshade's plasma filled the room with a sick green.

"Wait! What if- What if we help you? Steal things, make life more difficult for The Phoenix. All we need is money for food and clothes. Like 10%. Not a lot. We'd be great sidekicks. We won't even bother you. And, AND we can go through walls." I prattled.

"Slow down! What was that about helping me?" The villainess asked.

"We could be your sidekicks. And help steal more money." Harrison had heard me through my super fast speech.

"And you'd want some." She frowned.

"Not a lot. Like 9% or something. Just for clothes and stuff." I added.

"You're street kids, aren't you? I don't like this plan. I wouldn't want my extra hands to disappear somehow. I need to keep an eye on you..." She hummed, "Gareon, off the boy." She told her lizard. It listened.

"Um, Nightshade? Do we live here now?" I got up.

"Of course. But if you ever try to tell anyone that _I_ live here, you're gonna get killed." She threatened.

"Never'd dream of it." Harrison shrunk back at that.

"Me either." I shook my head.

"Good. Sit on the floor while I go freshen up. Gareon, guard them." She left and Gareon made us sit close together and hissed and bit at us when we moved too much.

It was a really long time before Nightshade came back out. She was wearing normal clothes now. A green shirt and jeans. She had hazel eyes and blue hair. I think she was Asian, "Let them up now. Which of you is older?"

"I am." I said, uncertainly.

"You're Den, right?" She asked. I nodded.

"I'm Harrison." My brother said to her.

"One of you can sleep on the couch or something. Just take your shoes off before bed. Guest room is over there," She pointed to the other hall, "Don't stay up til 3 or something."

"Do you have anything for the poison? I don't feel good." Harrison groaned.

"Uh, I'll go get it since I don't you dead before you work." She went to go get the anitdote and gave him a pill and he took it.

"Can we have dinner now?" I asked her.

"Eat what's in your bag. And give me my jewelery back." Harrison gave her his bag.

We ate all we had in my bag. It wasn't enough and we were still hungry. Our fight took too much energy. Nightshade was watching TV and her pet was still guarding us. I think he was still mad that we got in the loft. Harrison frowned as he realized we ran out food and looked at me when it was apparent she didn't want to be distrubed.

I sighed as I took off my belt and said before I put it in my mouth, "Make it quick, man."

"It won't be like last time, promise." He steeled himself to tear a piece of my flesh off. I closed my eyes, but the pain didn't come. I peeked and saw Harrison rubbing his hand and Gareon was in front of me.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Nightshade demanded.

"Um, getting more food?" He answered, confused.

"It looked like you were going to tear a chunk out of your brother. Why would you do that?" She seemed really perplexed and mad.

"We need lots of food to surive. There wasn't enough in the bag. I didn't think you'd want us to go steal just yet or go through the fridge again. So, since, uh, I'm less, um, well, we decided Harrison wasn't as good as a food source. So, I get eaten from. But I'd be ok. I just would need a couple days. Honest." I put my belt back on.

"You've eaten each other's flesh?" She sneered.

"I think all the pets learned to stay away from us after a awhile. Can I go catch something? I won't make a mess. I'll come back as soon as I did." Harrison asked.

"No. There's stuff about to go bad in the freezer. Eat that. Just don't eat each other." Nightshade told us.

"We won't if you feed us enough." I said, smiling slightly as we went to the freezer.

Den's POV End


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

The journal part 2

A month ago

Dante's POV

The two kids were sitting, well, Sophie was in the chair with her legs over the arm. They looked at me. The girl straightened out and her feet were on the floor again.

"Sophie told me The Phoenix brought her here. He must really trust you." The boy, I never got his name, said.

"I proved myself. I need to try and call again. My mentor was busy before. He'd be able to identify the journal." I told them.

"But you were gone a long time. Like a hour and half." Did I really leave a child alone in my house for a hour and half?

"I'm sorry about that. Would you like something to eat? Drink?" I offered.

"Yeah, do you have cookies?" He asked.

"Lok! You found a frist hand account from one of the most legendary heroes of the past decade. In a statue! Aren't you a little concerned about how you got a hold of it?!" Sophie yelled at him.

"But cookies..." Lok argued weakly.

"I'll get some cookies for you. But what happened to statue it was in?" I asked the blond.

"It was smashed and that's how we found it. It's in the trash." He told me, hoping I'd go get his snack now that he answered. I went to the kitchen and found some Oreos.

He happily took it and started eating. A tiny arm snuck out from one of the pillows, tugging on the back of Lok's arm in the hopes of getting a treat. I reached behind Lok and grabbed it. It was a white, cat sized monkey with bat wings. An Organization monster, "Who are you working for? How did you get in?"

"No one! I work for no one! Lemme go!" It bit me and hid behind Lok.

"Don't hurt him! He escaped from the Organization with some other monsters. He doesn't want to be bad. Honest. Cherit was worried about me so he followed the Phoenix here and snuck in the front door. I didn't let him in on purpose." Lok hugged and petted the creature and it was settling down.

"Lok, why do you trust it?" Sophie demanded.

"He knew about one of the entries in the journal before I finshed reading. They were fighting a vampire and The Guardian made a gun that took out all the fluid out of the body and accidently killed the vampire guy. His creator must of have known someone because I couldn't find anything about it online." Lok explained.

"What if he knew the bad guy?" She countered.

"No, he always liked The Guardian. He thinks of him as a close friend." The monster said quietly.

"Well, this does raise some questions." I mused.

"Can I keep him? I'll feed him and take him outside." The boy promised.

"Lok, he's not a pet. He's dangerous. Look, he bit me." I showed him the bitemark on my hand.

"You scared him." He frowned.

"Yeah, you grabbed me and yelled at me." It ate a Oreo.

"What if it has-" Sophie was interupted.

"Cherit. His name is Cherit." Lok insisted.

"YOU NAMED IT?!" The brunette yelled. The- Cherit hissed at her and struggled to get out of Lok's arms.

"Let's go cool down, ok? We're clearly all very upset and frustrated. Lok, I have a game room you can go play in. Second door on the right. I'm going to make that call again." Lok carried the white animal thing to the game room. It glared at me.

I went upstairs and called Metz and told him about everything that happened this afternoon. He listened and waited. I didn't want the boy to get hurt. All the monsters the Organization makes are dangerous even the cuddly ones like Cherit.

"I think you should give Cherit a chance. If he knows anything about my old teammate, I'd like to know. You weren't being fair to him before." Metz said and I nodded.

"What about the journal?" I asked.

"I remember it. Guardian was always using it when he could. I didn't think he used it as a diary though. Bring it the next time you come. I want to see it." My mentor had a slight antsiness in his voice.

"I will. I better go check on the kids. Bye." I said.

"Bye, Dante." He hung up.

I went downstairs again and Lok was in the living room with Sophie again. He was telling her about all the cool stuff he remembered from the journal. Cherit was hiding. I knew he wouldn't leave Lok alone. Not after the fact we upset his friend.

"My mentor said he would need to look at it to know if it's authentic." I reported back to them.

"We're going with you." Sophie told me. I raised my eyebrow.

"Yeah, my dad gave me that staute. Even if it's just by chance, I wanna know what it has to do with my dad and my freaky powers." Lok said, slightly frustrated.

"Powers?" I repeated.

"Yeah. I kinda floated when I had to jump from roof to roof and I shot a yellow beam at a Suit." He explained.

"One of your parents must have superpowers. Ask them to help you control them." I suggested.

"My mom? I guess she could. But can I have the necklace back?" He wondered.

"I don't- I guess it wouldn't hurt to look at it down here." I got the necklace and held it up to the light. I think it had a carving in it, but it was so faint.

"I have an idea." Cherit took it from me and put it on Lok and shot a white beam at it.

"Lok!" Sophie cried.

"I'm... I'm ok. I feel kinda good." The boy jumped up and floated in the air for a tiny bit. The necklace now had stylized sun glowing in shifting whites and yellows.

"I thought The Guardian would make something for Solarflare to hold sunlight at night. They were, uh, mates. That's it." Cherit told me.

"Very clever." I smiled a little. He flew over Lok and perched on his shoulder. The young boy gave him a little scratch on the chest and the gargoyle-ish animal purred. Sophie giggled. It was a funny sight.

I'd have to keep an eye on them, humans and creature. Something about the Red Angel reminds me of Sophie for some reason. Maybe it's all the red they wear. But Lok is developing his powers, first and foremost.

"You're gonna have so much fun when we get home... Wait, The Organization wrecked it. Dante, I don't think I can go back yet." He looked at me and his worry and fear were almost too much.

"You can stay here." I said suddenly.

"Really? You hear that, Cherit? We can play those other games now and you fly around before bedtime." Lok smiled.

"I suppose I could." Cherit said curtly and eyed me, putting his tail on the blond's other shoulder. I guess I'd have to earn his trust.

Dante's POV End


	5. Chapter 5

**With help from** **Nina Vale and author12306**

Chapter 4

The journal part 3

A month ago

That night

Dante's POV

I saw Cherit resting in the living room, on the couch. I sat next to him, "Look, I want to help Lok. Right now, his powers are awakening and need to controlled. And he's being hunted by the Organization. It's not good. I can he- I know people who can help him."

"I know the Organization is evil. But I do like Lok. So I'm watching you," He added, "Only Lok gets to pet me until you prove you mean it."

"Alright." I smiled.

"Cherit, I made your bed!" Lok called.

"Coming!" The little animal flew to his new master.

Dante's POV End

Cherit's POV

"Ta da." Lok showed me a fluffy thing with his shirt on it. I laid on it and it was soft.

"Soft." I said.

"I'm glad you like it. Night, buddy." He went his bed and went to sleep before I did. My bed was soft, but it was really squishy. Maybe the human bed is better. I flew and landed on the bed. I tried laying on the flat part then on the other fluffy thing and finally half on the fluffy thing. I ended up on Lok's tummy while trying to find a place to sleep and was lulled to rest by the soft, rhythmic rise and fall of his breathing.

Cherit's POV End

Later in the month

Lok's POV

"Dante, I don't understand why you couldn't have sent of copy of the pages." Sophie asked.

"I'd rather he have the chance to look at it in person." He said.

"Can I come out now?" Cherit poked his head out of my bag.

"We're still near people." I told him and he huffed. I gave him a pat on the head. We walked to a large house and went inside. A lady with brown hair and green eyes let us in.

"Dante, who are these children?" She asked when she closed the door.

"They found the journal I told you about. Lok, get it out." Dante asked me. I put my bag down and got it out with Cherit's help. I gave to him and he gave it to the lady. She looked through it and was kinda sad. Why was she sad? Was there something sad in the journal?

"You have to quiet and leave when I say." She gave the journal back to Dante.

"Of course," He took us to a room, a bedroom with a bunch of monitors and hospital stuff, "Metz, I brought the journal."

"Thank you, Dante. Who have you brought with you?" He asked weakly.

"The boy is Lok Lambert and that young lady is Sophie Casterwill." He pointed to us.

"Hi." I waved.

"Nice to meet you, sir." She bowed.

"Please make yourselves comfortable." The man started coughing and it was awful. Cherit poked his head out to see what the noise was. I let him out and he went to Metz's bed.

"Cherit! Come back!" I called.

"I have to help him. He's so much sicker than my creator. I'm Cherit, Lok's friend." He told the man.

"Dante didn't tell me you were that small. And soft." Metz petted him.

"Well, he hasn't let me pet him yet." Dante said.

"Would you hand me the journal?" Metz asked and Dante did. It was quiet as he read. I found a chair and sat down.

Lok's POV End

Cherit's POV

The man was very pale and read slowly. I think he forgot what he was doing a couple times. He petted me. It wasn't like with Lok. His hand trembled and he didn't give scratches. I heard him mumble, but it didn't make sense. That he should of been smarter, more aware. That his head hurt and he wanted his friend back.

"Dante, this is the real thing. Keep it safe. Thank you for coming. I need to rest now. I'm sorry I wasn't a better host." He apologized.

"We understand. Cherit, come on." Lok called.

"Bye." I said to Metz and went back to Lok. He gave me a quick pat and then I went back in the bag.

Cherit's POV End

Lok's POV

Later than evening

We were back at Dante's house. Sophie was at her house. I was napping on the couch when someone outside yelled for Dante to come out. I rubbed my eyes and looked out the window. A man in a suit jacket and purple shirt surrounded by Suits was outside.

"Dante, there's some bad guys outside!" I called. He came to window and looked out too.

"The Organization." He frowned.

"We know you have the boy and the journal. Surrender now and bring them out." The man yelled.

"What do we do?" I asked.

"We'll go to the roof exit." Dante told me and went through some rooms and up a staircase. We were on the roof and it was kinda chilly.

Dante jumped the railing of the exit and called out, "There's a nice house you boys are checking out. Dabbling in real estate? Here I thought you were book collectors," He got the journal out and waved it around, "If you want it, then come and get it, but I warn you - collecting suits is my hobby!"

"Dude, what're you doing?" I hissed.

"Taunting them, leading them away from my neighbors." Dante grabbed me and dragged me down the roof as some suits started chasing us. Then he jumped off the roof and onto another. We went to the ground as soon as we could and we were near a bridge, I think the same one where The Phoenix saved me.

"They just keep coming." I panted as we slowed down.

"Only two this time." Dante ducked under a orange ray and I jumped back and started floating backwards.

"Hey! Whoa, Dante, help!" I spun a little and tried to swim back to him, but it didn't work and I sent across the canal and knocked a man steering a boat over. I said sorry and landed on the other side of the canal.

"Lok, you ok?" Dante yelled and ran across the bridge to me.

"Yeah, let's get outta here." I ran to another alley. Dante followed me and I heard suits following us, but then they stopped.

"Lok, don't make any loud noises." He told me in a hushed voice.

"Ok?" I whispered. They left, saying we disappeared. Dante made me wait until he was sure no one was there and we went back to the street and he said we couldn't go back to his house just yet.

"Lok, Dante? What're you doing out here?" Sophie and a man, a little older than her and me, came up to us. He was wearing funny clothes.

"Do you know a place where we could stay for the night? The Organization found us at my house." Dante asked.

"Sure, follow me." She lead the way.

Lok's POV End

Nightshade's POV

"Mom, why'd you help those guys?" Harrison asked.

"What did I tell you about calling me Mom?" I asked sharply.

"At home?" He questioned.

"Not in costume!" I smacked him upside the head.

"Ow." He rubbed his head. His brother was scowling at me. It was a good scowl.

"But why'd you help them?" Den scratched at his new mask.

"The Organization was getting too close for comfort. This is my city. They don't get to chase people here." I said. They thought about it and nodded.

"Can we go home now? I'm hungry." Harrison whined.

"Yeah, me too." The shorter haired boy agreed.

"Again? I gave you a snack before we left," I frowned, "Fine, we'll go home. I've got stuff to do anyway." They cheered and ran slow enough for me to keep an eye on them, but still superhumanly so. I thought about man in the trench coat. I'll have to see if I can find him again.

Nightshade's POV End

Dante's POV

Was there a woman on the roof? It was hard to see. The only person I know who can use illusions is Nightshade and why would she help strangers?

Dante's POV End

Lok's POV

We walked into a huge mansion and a man in a suit greeted us and we were taken to the tea room. I was walking around when I felt a breeze coming from the wall. I went to it and found a door.

"Why is there a door here?" I asked Sophie.

"They're the servants' tunnels. They just go to rooms." She explained.

"That's weird." I said.

"Lok, there are people who can help you get control of your powers. They're called the Huntik Foundation. I work for them as... a treasure hunter and reporter, my interviews with the Phoenix, for example. They can teach you." Dante told me after I closed the door.

"What if The Phoenix teaches me instead? I think I tried to fly back at the bridge. And he could show me how to shoot my yellow light beams. Kinda." I tried to convince him.

"He's a busy man, Lok. I'm not sure he would be willing to take a sidekick." He said like Mom did when she was about to say I couldn't have the game I wanted.

"But I'll be good." I promised.

"Lok, I'm not asking the Phoenix to train you." He sighed.

"What if you suggest it?" Suggesting and asking were very different.

"You don't know what it's like! It's not fun and games. People get hurt. People die." Sophie said too loudly. I felt tears in my eyes.

"Lok?" Dante asked.

"I'm ok." I wiped my eyes.

"I don't think you'd be ready anyway." She started to walk away.

"You're going to say sorry to Lok." Dante stopped her.

"For what? He's not." She said harshly. I tried not to cry, but she was being really mean.

"You're making him cry," Dante started talking to me, "Hey, bud, you just need some training is all. You'll be a good hero someday."

"Really?" I sniffed and wiped my nose after a minute.

"Yes, I'll... suggest it to the Phoenix, ok?" He smiled tentatively.

"Whoo!" I danced and jumped around. I could be The Phoenix's sidekick!

"Sophie, say sorry now." Dante told her. She opened her mouth and frowned.

"Lok, I'm sorry I made you cry." She crossed her arms.

"Ok. Is it bedtime? I'm tired." I yawned.

"LeBlanche will show you to your rooms." She summoned him and he took us to our rooms like she promised.

A day later

I was sitting on Dante's couch, waiting for The Phoenix to come. Sophie was laying in her chair again. She was reading a book she brought. I petted Cherit. Then the front door opened and the superhero came in. Sophie got up and curtseyed.

"Hello, Phoenix." She smiled.

"Dante said there would only be you, Lok." He frowned.

"She wanted to meet you really bad and it'll be quick, promise." I smiled a little bit.

"Alright. Do you want a picture?" He asked Sophie.

"Yes." They posed and she took it and a few more.

"Sophie, we, me and The Phoenix, have to talk now. If, um, you could, maybe, go home..." I scratched my neck.

"He's right, you know. This is Lok's time." Cherit reminded her.

"Goodbye. Lok, we'll talk later, ok?" She looked at me. I smiled widely. She wanted to talk!

"Ok." I said and waved. She walked out the door.

"Dante said your powers are coming in and you have no control over them. That's not good. You should have been trained even if you were a quater Super. Which doesn't seem to be the case. You're half or fully Super. There's no real way of knowing unless your parents-"

"Mom. My mom's the only one around. Dad, he's been gone for 10 years." I corrected.

"I'm sorry." He said earnestly.

"It's ok." I heard that a lot.

"Dante asked if I could train you. I thought about it and I need to ask a few questions first before I made that call. Can you fight?" The masked man asked.

"Um, I fought some bullies." I answered.

"Did you win?" He wondered.

"I was going to, but then they ganged up on me all the sudden. A teacher caught them so they got detention." I said honestly.

"We'll work- We would work on your fighting skills if I decide you're good enough." He corrected.

"Aw." I sighed.

"Just a few more questions. How do you feel about hitting girls?" The Phoenix started up again.

"Well, I guess if they're doing bad things, I'd have to help stop them." I reasoned.

"Can you keep a secret?" I nodded.

"He's kept me a secret pretty well." Cherit told him.

"He's good. He hates the Organization." I reassured him.

"I'd keep an eye out for people looking for him if I were you." The yellow clad man told me, looking a bit wary.

"I will." I promised.

"Do you have a strong sense of justice and moral compass? Do you feel the need to take vengance on others?" He asked very seriously.

"Um, no on vengance and yes on justice." I looked at him and waited.

"Well, then, welcome aboard, Lok." He smiled.

The door slammed open, "That's not fair! I've been waiting for a teacher all my life!" Sophie shouted.

"Sophie, you promised you would go home." I said, upset.

"I'm a Casterwill! I'm destined for greatness, but all my family is dead or hiding. I need a great hero to train me, Phoenix. You must have heard the legends about us. The First Family." She walked inside again and closed the door.

"You promised!" I yelled. She stopped and looked at me.

"I agreed to leave, not promis-" She tried to use tricky words, but I knew better.

"Nu-huh!" I frowned.

"Lok, I need to talk to Sophie now. Why don't you go out for bit and come in... an hour?" He turned to me.

"Ok. Come here, Cherit. Let's go to the park." I opened my bag and let him in.

An hour later

"I wanted to play that game the dogs were playing." Cherit told me.

"Fetch?" I asked.

"Yeah, that one. Let's play that." He nodded.

"Ok, we'll play after dinner." I opened the door and saw The Phoenix and Sophie sitting and drinking coffee or something.

"Lok, you're back. Sophie and I talked and I decided she would also be a good sidekick, but she's not coming with us until next month." He put his cup down.

"To fight crime?" I asked and let Cherit out. He rested on my shoulder.

"Yes." He confirmed and looked at Sophie.

"I'm sorry I cut in." She aimed her gaze near my face, not at it.

"I, uh, accept your apology." I said and then Phoenix got up and closed the curtains.

"What're you doing?" Cherit asked.

"Since I know their identities and I'm going to teach them, I think" He put a hand to his mask, "it's safe for me," He took it off with a flourish, "to give them the same courtesy."

"Dante?!" I shouted.

"I can't believe it!" Sophie yelled.

Cherit hissed at him, "No, it's ok. I was surprised." I petted him. He was calmed down after more pets.

"Do you think you two can still handle this?" He asked.

"Yeah." I nodded. Sophie did too.

"Good. Now, Sophie, you're going for real this time. I have to get dinner ready and talk to Lok about sidekick stuff." Dante told her.

"Ok. Goodbye." She left again. I rested before dinner and we talked like he said. Dante was wearing his normal clothes now. We decided I'd get a plain supersuit for now and come up a name later.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

Cherit's Secret and Lok's Surprise

Present day

"Da- Phoenix! Are you ok?" Sophie, Red Angel, asked our teacher.

"Nightshade got me in the leg with one of her plasma balls." He rubbed his leg.

"I can heal it!" She said, determined.

"Cool!" I watched as she knelt beside him and a watery, pink light went to the burn and it was a couple minutes before she stopped and got up.

"There, that should do. The poison was getting pretty far in your bloodstream, but I think I got it all. I never had to heal something like Nightshade's plasma before." She told us.

"You did great." He reassured.

Then the police came and took Nightshade and the brothers away. We were allowed to leave then so we did. Flying higher than birds normally did, we started to head back.

"I wanna go nap!" I said. Fighting made me tired.

"I know. You can as soon as we get home." Dante, The Phoenix, told me.

"Goodbye, see you later." Sophie turned as she saw her house.

We got home and changed. My supersuit was getting all gross and I took a shower then napped.

Lok's POV End

Dante's POV

"I'm napping now!" Lok yelled from upstairs. Then the house was quiet as he slept. Cherit was probably with him.

I shook my head and turned back to TV and watched while I still could before Lok wanted dinner.

Dante's POV End

Cherit's POV

Evening time

"Brothers? Sisters?" I called. They couldn't have moved already. It's only been a week or something.

 _"Little one, where have you been? Supper is starting."_ A tall, lavender skinned being with pink hair called through our bond.

"Supper?" I perked on her shoulder.

 _"Yes. What is that thing you have?"_ She took the box of cookies and shook it.

"The humans called them cookies. They seem to like them so I brought one." I thought of Lok and I hoped he wouldn't get too mad.

 _"You took from the humans?!"_ She exclaimed.

"Yeah..." I shrunk back.

 _"And they did not see?"_ She questioned.

"No." I said.

 _"We will see if these cookies are worth the risk."_ She hummed and we were at the fire now. The others were eating something and it smelt good.

 _"Sister, I see you found our missing clan mate."_ Our leader handed us some food and continued to eat for the moment, eyeing the box our sister had with her.

The meat was tender this time and juicey. I ate my fill and relxed a little as everyone finished eating. Sister got up and handed the box to our leader, _"The little one got this from the humans. He says they called them cookies."_

 _"Cookies?"_ He opened it with a rattle and pulled out the tray. The black cookie had firelight dancing on it, _"It looks burned."_

"Oh, no. It's fine. The humans wouldn't give each other burned cookies. I think they made it that way." I told him.

 _"It has white in the middle."_ He held it sideways.

"I think it's supposed to be there." I explained, carefully, impatiently.

 _"Hmm,"_ The blue eyed being bit into the treat, _"Sweet, crunchy, dry at first. Where is the water? The taste is strong."_

 _"Here."_ Someone handed him a large cup. He drank and put it back down.

 _"Who wants to try Cookies?"_ He asked. The others decided they wanted to try them and the box was passed around. I was given a cookie and I ate it happily.

 _"Water, please."_ Some asked and the cup was passed around, too.

 _"Little one, perhaps the next time you go into the human's territory, you could find meat."_ Our leader looked at me.

"They hide that in their nests. Very deep inside. They have a special box for it." I saw Dante take some meat out of the cold box and cook it.

 _"Very well,"_ He hummed. Then supper ended and I was to help keep watch for the first shift with our leader. The other clan members rested near the fire while we were off at the edge of the camp, _"Brother, where do you go during the day? We can not protect you if we can not find you."_

"I met a superhero. Dante but that's his normal name. He's the Phoenix. He lets me stay at his nest if I'm good and he feeds me. Lok, his clan member, feeds me too, and we play games." I waited.

 _"Dante? Is he a good leader?"_ He asked.

"Oh, yes. He's teaching Lok how fight bad guys, The Organization and Nightshade, another dangerous person, mostly, and take care of the nest." I saw him teach Lok how use the scary, loud thing. He said it wouldn't eat me, but it would try someday.

 _"Fighting bad guys seems dangerous."_ He frowned mentally.

"That's why he's training Lok. And they wear masks as superheroes. People don't recognize them somehow." I shrugged. They smelled the same no matter what they wore, just a little different.

 _"Humans are strange. I wish to meet Dante and his clan."_ Our leader told me.

"I have to show how to get to his nest and it takes a long time when I have to hide for the humans." I explained.

 _"I see."_ He hummed and we kept lookout for awhile until we could go sleep.

Cherit's POV End

A week later

Dante's POV

"Have you seen Cherit? I haven't seen him since lunch time." Lok worried.

"He'll come back. He probably wanted to be outside today," I reassured. There was a knock on the back door, "Who could that be?"

I opened it and I saw Cherit on the shoulder of a 6 foot something monster with armor and a sword on its back. It had pure blue eyes with no irises and a gray mouth guard, or was that its mouth?

"Dante, this my clan leader. He wanted to meet you." Cherit smiled.

"Cherit, you're home!" Lok cried and grabbed him off the monster's shoulder and smooshed him to his chest in a hug. The monster looked confused.

"This is Lok." Cherit introduced, weakly.

"He and Cherit met each other first while Lok discovered his powers." I explained. The monster nodded.

"Cherit's my friend and I love him." Lok let the white creature go and he rested on the blond's shoulder and caught his breath.

"Come in, please." I moved out of the way and let him in. Cherit's leader walked in. We went to the living room and I brought our dinners as well.

"Oh, they can't hear you. You haven't made a bond yet." Cherit told his leader.

He grunted and I felt a pain in my head as something tried force its way in. I groaned as I tried to accept the bond. Lok wasn't doing any better. Cherit was trying to sooth Lok, who was clutching his head.

"It's... not working. St-stop." I panted and felt the sweat cool on my forehead as it stopped.

"He says sorry. We've never had to try to make a bond with humans before. It's normally so easy." Cherit explained.

"I'm tired. Hand me my water?" Lok asked and the little creature did. Lok guzzled his water down and curled on the couch.

"Maybe if we know what to expect, we can bond." I drank my own water.

"Well, it's a link to communicate. Like your tiny TV thing." Cherit made a square with his fingers.

"Phone." I supplied.

"Yeah, but it's maintained by trust. You don't want someone you don't trust to be able to talk to you whenever they want straight into your mind." He said. I nodded. That would be awful.

"So, maybe, we have trust you first then make the bond?" Lok asked.

"I suppose we have to try that." Cherit looked at his clan leader and he nodded.

"It's ok, Cherit. You didn't know." I told him. Lok petted him and mouthed something. The blue eyed monster watched carefully as the younger boy kept petting and mouthing to his little animal friend. I don't think he knew wasn't actually saying anything.

Dante's POV End

Lok's POV

 _"And after I get enough energy to eat, we can go play. Maybe not fetch, but something quieter. Or watch Youtube."_ I scratched under Cherit's chin.

 _"That's good. Ah, ah. There is good."_ Cherit purred as I got in between his wings. I smiled.

 _"-ello? Y-ung male?"_ A new voice asked. It was deep and curious.

"Who is it?" I asked, feeling like it had been a little bit since I spoke aloud.

 _"Leader of... the Venice clan. Enemy to the Organization. Li-Cherit's brother."_ The armored being that Cherit brought pointed at himself, saying it slowly.

"Oh, hi." I waved.

"What did he say?" Dante asked me.

"He said he's the leader of the Venice clan and "Enemy to the Organization", oh, and Cherit's brother!" I added.

"You can hear him?!" Cherit yelped.

"He said it slow." I explained.

 _"Cherit trusts you. Using my bond with him to talk to you, young one. Very hard."_ The leader told me.

"Oh, I understand now." Cherit nodded.

"Lok?" Dante said with an uneasy tone.

"He's using his bond with Cherit to talk to me." I petted my friend.

"I see." My teacher hummed.

"Oh, um, Brother wants to go back to our camp. He wants me to help him get back so we can talk with the others about Lok's bond with me." Cherit frowned a little as the tall, sword wielder got up.

"It's ok, bud." I smiled.

"We understand. Stay where you need to for the night. My house won't walk away." Dante joked.

"I think he means it'll still be here." The white animal landed on its shoulder. Dante helped them get back outside and watched as they left.

Lok's POV End


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6

Dinner at Dante's

A couple nights later

"Hey, Sophie. Cou- Would you like to come for dinner?" I smiled.

"At Dante's? Sure." She nodded.

"Cool." I walked with her.

"There's so much I want to talk about with him!" She said, excited.

"Yeah…" I said slowly. I don't think we'll be talking a lot about the stuff she wants.

We went to Dante's house and she helped me homework until dinnertime. It was so boring, but I understood it, I guess. We were eating when there was a knock on the back door. Dante got it and let Cherit and his leader in. Sophie put her fork down.

"Hi, Sophie." Cherit waved.

"Hi, uh, Cherit?" She thought for a second.

"This is my clan leader. He wanted to meet you all." My white furred friend flew over and nuzzled me. I petted him back.

"Oh! Hello… Leader." Sophie waved.

"I don't think they're like the other human clans. Are you?" Cherit asked Dante.

"We're not related if that's what you mean. I took them to teach them to be heroes." Dante explained.

"Yeah, he's not our dad." I said.

"What's a dad?" Cherit asked.

"The male parent." Sophie said quickly.

"Ooh." He nodded.

"I'm their leader until they want to try to superhero-ing on their own. And if they need me, I'll come help them." The tall, blue eyed monster nodded.

"My brother wants to know if Lok has anymore… superhero sisters." Cherit told him.

"No, it's just us." I said.

"How many are in your clan?" Sophie asked.

"Um, fi- at least, fifteen. We haven't convinced some of the newer ones to join yet." Cherit explained.

"I see." Dante hummed.

"Why can you talk?" I scratched under his chin and he purred. His clan leader cocked his head in wonder.

"They made me different." He said simply.

"They made you fluffy." I ruffled the little floof on his chest. He purred again.

"So, are you just curious about superheroes?" Sophie asked.

Cherit's leader thought for a moment and shook his head.

"He wants to learn from you. How to fight… And be friends." Cherit said slowly.

"I'll have to meet the rest of your clan." Dante told him.

"Can I go, too?" I asked.

"No, Lok, you need to stay home and do your chores." He looked at me.

"But Dante!" I looked at him with sad eyes.

"Best do what he says, Lok." Cherit advised.

"Hmph!" I crossed my arms.

"I'm sure we can go visit when Dante knows it's safe." Sophie reassured. I smiled a little at her.

We finished our dinner and Dante went with Cherit and his leader. Sophie went home after I started my chores. Then I played on the Xbox.

Lok's POV End

Dante's POV

They were hiding in the park. The leader had calmed everyone down after they saw me. They didn't move for a minute.

"Cherit, what's happening?" I looked at him and he was still too.

"Uuuh- Oh, our leader is sharing his memory of dinner with us." He snapped out his trace.

Then the sword wielder told them something that made them curious and some of the monsters tugged at my coat and lifted my shirt up.

"Is your armor a part of you?" I asked.

"You mean the metal body stuff? Only our leader can't take off most of it. But he says he can feel like everyone else. Well, his hands can feel." Cherit said.

"Ok, ok. That's enough. That's a shoe. It protects my foot from the ground." I waved the monsters off when they almost knocked me off balance.

"They're sorry. It's just humans wear such colorful, neat things. And the shiny things the females wear. What do they do?" Cherit asked.

"Jewelry? It just looks pretty." I explained, not wanting to into the complexities of gemstone meanings and such.

"Oh. Why are some humans bigger than others? Like their bodies are bigger than yours." He asked. His clan watched and waited.

"Well, most of the time, they're overweight. Humans have a thing called fat. It keeps us warm and is used for energy. But since most people eat lots of junk food like cookies and don't exercise, um, the fat is more noticeable. Some people are just born with a stockier body. I'm tall. And some people are shorter and broader." I showed them with my hands. They nodded.

"Haa?" A pink haired monster asked with a sword pointed at me.

The leader got between us and explained what I was doing here, grunting here and there. The female (?) put her sword away and went to me. She looked at me and poked my chest, picked at my shirt, and felt my stomach. She was confused. Where was my armor? This couldn't be it.

"I don't wear this when I fight. I wear my super suit. I fight differently because I can't wear protective gear with my suit. It would make flying hard and I shoot flames so that probably wouldn't be good for the gear." I told the feminine being.

She nodded and suddenly turned to Cherit.

"Lok? He's at home. Dante told him to stay and clean the nest. Dante, can she come and see Lok?" Cherit asked.

"Not tonight. He's probably asleep by now." I checked my watch. 1:30.

"Ok. You should go sleep, too." Cherit told me.

"Yeah, I'll see you later. Cherit, do you want to come with me?" I asked.

"Um," He looked at his leader. He nodded, "Ok." The white animal thing landed on my shoulder and we went home.

Dante's POV End

Lok's POV

The same night

Dante opened the back door and let himself in, "Hey, Lok! Cherit's, uh, sister came to see you!"

Cherit and his leader had come back, too. There was a girl monster with him, too. They came into the living room. I yawned and sat up, the blanket I was under sliding off my body and onto the couch. I rubbed my eye as she looked at me and then she squished my cheeks, cooing.

"Uh…" I said through all the squishing.

"She thinks you're adorable." Dante smiled.

"Why?" I asked.

" _Sleepy male cute."_ Cherit's brother told me.

"Ok." I said as she picked me up and cradled me.

" _She wants baby soon. Getting close to season."_ He added.

"Why aren't you all fighty and terri- uh, territorial?" I remembered.

" _Little one, Cherit, not a threat._ " He glared at my buddy. His ears flattened and he tried to look smaller.

"What's going on?" Dante asked.

"Oh, uh, I guess it's close to their mating season. She wants a baby." I yawned.

"I didn't think they would want to have their, uh, creatures to have babies." Dante scratched his head.

"They wanted to see how fast we grew if we were born from a mother. The newer ones don't seem want to have babies." Cherit explained.

The female hissed at the others and cooed at me. They went quiet. I was rocked, hushed, and sang to sleep.

Lok's POV End


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

Food and Fighting

Dante's POV

"Lok, I'll be back in a bit." I shouted.

"Oook." He yelled sleepily.

I smiled as I closed the door. It was sunny, but a tad chilly. I walked to the store when two boys ran past me. A blue haired, pretty woman furrowed her eyebrows as she yelled, "Den, Harrison! You almost knocked this man over!"

They stopped and walked slowly back over, "Sorry."

"That's right." She nodded.

"I'm alright. No harm done." I gave a small, reassuring smile.

"I should have made them slow down." She said in a slightly stern tone.

"Mom, I wanna go home." The long haired one complained.

"I'm talking, Harrison!" She barked, "I'm their foster mom," She added.

"Ah," I nodded, "I'm Dante..." I trailed off, wondering whether or not to say my last name.

"Zhalia." She answered.

"It was nice meeting you, Zhalia." I smiled.

"You too." She smiled back and it felt nice.

Then she walked past me and went on her way. I went to the store and bought everything on the list plus a snack or two for myself, but Cherit would probably eat it, wondering what it was. I walked back and found Lok in the kitchen looking for food.

"I'm hungry." He yawned.

"Put some groceries away." I put a bag down.

"Ok." He yawned and grabbed something.

We put the food away and Lok ate while watching TV. I had a granola bar and let my mind wander. Then my watch beeped before my TV did.

"What's going on?" Lok asked with his mouth full.

"It's my crime alert system," I switched to the right input and a picture of a jewelry store popped up with the location, "We gotta go."

"But I just woke up." He said and I looked at him. He was in his PJ's.

"We'll talk about that later. I'll handle this one." It'd be like old times. Kinda.

I went upstairs and changed into my suit. I flew quickly and got to the store. Nightshade was stuffing the merchandise into a bag. The boys were bored and wanting to go eat probably. That's all they talk about when they don't notice us.

"Where's your sidekicks?" Nightshade asked haughtily.

"I can take on all three of you." I said confidently.

"Yeah, where's Solarboy?" The spikey haired one, who Sophie and Lok (teasingly on his part) dubbed Speedy number 1, noticed.

"He's busy." I said.

"That doesn't make sense. He's supposed to fight crime with you." The gaunter faced boy was puzzled.

"Haven't you tried learning on your own yet?" I asked accidently.

"No, she won't let us." They pouted.

"Boys, you're getting distracted! Attack him!" Nightshade huffed while grabbing a few more things.

"Right!" They rushed me and tried to hit me. I dodged their attacks and shot a fireball in one of their paths. It made him backtrack, which gave me enough time to fly out of their reach.

"That's not fair." Speedy number 1 complained.

"I got an idea." Speedy number 2 picked up some watches and rings and started chucking them at me at with super speed.

"That's clever." I gritted my teeth as I tried to avoid getting hit while at the same time, getting to Nightshade to stop her.

"Stop fighting like children!" Sophie shot a laser at them. The bombardment stopped and I let out a sigh. Who knew rings hurt that much? She must have her own system in place to fight crime.

"I'm here! Sorry I didn't get here sooner!" Lok's hair was still messy and he started shooting at the brothers.

One of them threw a few necklaces at Sophie, but she stopped them with her shield. I flew to Nightshade and twisted her arm back before she could react.

"Looks like your sidekicks showed up after all," Nightshade then whispered in my ear, "And I have you all to myself."

An excited shiver went through my body. She's my enemy! She's doing this on purpose. I know she is, that's her most famous tactic, but it works well.

"Of course they would." I said as she got out of my grasp.

"I can hope." She answered cryptically.

"For?" I asked as I attacked, landing a few hits, but not as many as I wanted.

"The day I unmask you." Nightshade smiled like there was more to that statement and I should know it.

"Mmm-hmm. Here's a crazy thought: What if I _unmask_ you first?" I flashed a quick grin before I temporarily blinded her and caressed her face, playing with the mask. She punched me in the gut before I could do anything else.

"Not so fast, Phoenix. Now isn't the time." She chided me like an overeager boyfriend.

"Hypothetically, when?" I waited to see if she would try to fight blinded.

"After an epic battle or perhaps I get the best of you while we're fighting on a rooftop." Her fists glowed with plasma.

"You actually thought about unmasking me, huh?" I ducked as she swung.

"Of course I have. Who hasn't?" Nightshade posed.

A loud crack sounded, "I'm sorry! Are you ok?" Lok asked.

"You broke my arm! Of course I'm not ok!" Speedy 2 spat.

"Great. Now he can't do dishes." The villainess frowned.

"You hurt my brother!" Speedy 1 charged at him and sent a flurry of punches at my student.

"I didn't mean to." Lok flew up to the celling.

"Get down here and fight me!" The slightly younger boy yelled.

"No!" He refused.

"I didn't think Puppy could actually hurt someone like that." Nightshade mused as we grappled.

"I'm sure he's oozing with evil potential now." I snarked.

"He's still a goody two shoes." She told me.

"Get off of me!" Lok had pinned the brown haired boy under him.

"No." He said again.

Nightshade was trying to choke me now, but I threw her off of me and into a display case. She groaned before getting up. I got up too. She could probably see better than she could a few minutes ago. I knocked her to her feet while feinting a charge and burned her with a small fireball when she almost grabbed my legs with plasma on her hands. I tied her up after I knew it was safe.

"Ow! Be careful." Speedy 2 complained.

"It's your own fault. If you weren't committing crimes, you wouldn't have to fight us." Sophie told him.

"I'm sorry." Lok apologized again.

"Whatever." The boy dismissed it and I felt Lok's disappointment ripple through the store.

The police came in and after they assured that the speedster would get his arm cared for, we left and went home. I told Lok that accidents happen and that the boy just probably didn't want to accept a superhero's apology. He pouted and said he was being mean because Nightshade was teaching him. Then he went to bed.

Dante's POV End

 **A/N: This story will be long and will explore all the headcanons I made with** **jaynefray/Nina Vale on Tumblr. Some are arcs and others in passing.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8

To London

"Lok, we have to go to London." Dante announced at breakfast.

"Why?" I asked.

"I think it has something to do with Nightshade." He explained.

"You think she went there to steal something?" I ate some eggs.

"Yeah." Dante nodded.

"When?" I looked up at him.

"This afternoon." He sipped his coffee.

"Aw!" I groaned.

"I'm not taking you out of school for superhero stuff. You need to go." He said with finality.

"Pffft." I blew a raspberry at him.

"Get ready for school, bud." He turned to his paper.

"I don't wanna…" I whined as I ate.

"I know, I know." He smiled, not looking at me.

I went to school and saw Sophie. She waved at me. Classes were boring, but it was Friday, too, so I dunno; maybe that made it super boring today. We got out with history homework. Not fair.

"Soophhhhhie! Guess what?" I ran to her. She was ahead of me.

"What, Lok?" She asked.

"We're going to London!" I smiled.

"London?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Mmm-hmm." I nodded excitedly.

We walked to Dante's and he looked at us, "Lok, go pack. Sophie, uh, go home and pack. It may be a weekend trip."

"Shouldn't Lok do his homework first?" She asked him.

"What is it?" He looked at her then me.

"A fill in the blank sheet." She replied.

"I thought American schools did that." Dante commented.

"It's for a review." I added.

"Get done by 6." He turned to go to do something.

"LeBlanche? Can you pack for a weekend trip to London? Thank you," She hung up, "Now, I can help you."

"With packing?" I smiled hopefully.

"With homework." Sophie grinned.

"Pfft." I stuck my tongue out at her.

I packed, but Dante _and_ Sophie insisted they check and they both put stuff in my bag. Dante said I did a good job though. Then I had to do my homework. It was awful and boring. I was tired when we got Sophie's stuff and she almost couldn't go because her bodyguard didn't like Dante. They had a scuffle and Dante won so they saw us off at the airport and he bowed at Dante. It was weird. We had one delay, but we made it to our plane and we flew. I napped on the plane and Cherit woke me before we landed. I snuck him onboard. I didn't want him to be alone. Dante was leading us to a museum after we found a safe house to stay at. It was late afternoon-ish.

"Arf! Arf!" A large dog came running out of an alley and ran around Dante before jumping up and licking his face.

"Hello, Fenris." Dante rubbed his neck.

"Fenris, down!" A terrified voice yelled. There was a person on the dog's back! Like a horse.

"Fen, leave the poor man- Dante Vale?" A superhero asked after he landed with a thunderous crack.

"Hello." Dante smiled.

"Um, Sir? If you would…" The man on the dog asked timidly. He had red hair and glasses. I didn't think superheroes could wear glasses.

"Fenris, sit!" He commanded and the blue and gray doggy sat immediately. It barked and I saw its tail wag, "Yes, you're a good boy." He scratched its ear.

"Good doggy." I held my hand out and Fenris sniffed it. Then he let me pet him. His fur was soft.

"So, what're you doing here, Vale?" The superhero had a boisterous voice.

"We came to see where Nightshade went. She isn't in Venice anymore. I think she came to steal to something here." I said.

"Really?" He hummed.

"You're Thunderfist and Quickwit! London's finest superheroes." Sophie exclaimed. Oh, yeah! That's their names.

Dante smirked and Thunderfist, the gray haired man with the boisterous voice noticed, but let him get away with it. Fenris ruffed, "She hasn't forgotten about you."

"And Fenris," She added and the dog licked her hand, "Ew."

"We better get going. I have some friends I need to meet up with." Dante said before anything else could happen.

"Of course. We'll see you around, Dante." Thunderfist nodded and jumped into the air, leaving a slight hole.

"I hate this part." Quickwit groaned as Fenris took off after his master.

"What'd he mean by that?" I asked.

"I interview him sometimes. Come on, we're not too far from the museum now." Dante waved us on.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 9

Distracted by Games

Den's POV

"When do we get to go?" Harrison whined.

"I told you, we go later. Because we have a job to do now." Zhalia hissed.

"But it looks fun!" Harrison watched as some kids went into the arcade.

"Yeah." I agreed.

"Not you too, Den." She groaned.

"I could totally win at the basketball game." Harrison bragged.

"Nu-huh." I told him.

"Yeah-huh." He retorted.

"Nu-huh. I'm better than you." I pointed out.

"Boys, stop it! Or you're not going to the arcade!" Zhalia threatened.

"Yes, Ma'am." We said, shirking back at her glare.

"How hard is it to find a museum hosting an exhibit on rare gems? Now, where's that street? I hate London's layout. It should be here…" She looked around. We groaned.

Den's POV End


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 10

A Short Tour

We got to the museum and Dante pressed the button on the intercom.

"Hello?" A scared, small voice asked.

"Tersly, it's Dante Vale." Our teacher said.

"Oh, yes, yes. All right, one moment." Tersly sounded happier. The door opened a little and revealed a red haired man in glasses, "Uh? Oh."

"Hello, Tersly." Dante said again.

"Hello, Dante. Uh, come in." He opened the door more. We went in and it was a big, pretty place.

"I don't believe you've met my associates. Tersly, this is Lok Lambert and Sophie Casterwill." Dante introduced us.

"Nice to meet you." Sophie waved.

"Hey." I said.

"Hello." He answered shyly.

"Montehue around?" Dante turned to the skinny man.

"I am." A sturdily built man with gray hair boomed.

"Hi, Montehue." Dante turned around and shook his hand, kinda unready to see him.

"What brings you to my humble home?" He joked.

"Business." Dante said seriously.

"Treasure hunter business or…" He trailed off.

"Or what?" I asked. They looked at each other.

"It's private, not-for-kids business." Dante told us.

"I'm not a child!" Sophie huffed.

"Mmm-hmm." Montehue hummed.

"I'm not!" She insisted.

"Can we go explore now?" I asked.

"Sure, Tersly, go with 'em. Tell 'em about the exhibits." Montehue told the smaller man.

"Aw." I sighed.

"I think you'll be ok, Lok." Dante smiled knowingly.

"If you say so." I mumbled and followed Tersly and Sophie.

We walked to a large room and I saw some pretty art. Sophie liked it more. Then, after they talked forever, we got to go to another room. It was filled with superhero stuff. I smiled. Superheroes were always interesting!

"This is our Supers' exhibit." Tersly announced.

"Ooo, maybe there's one about my creator and the Guardian." Cherit flew out of my bag.

"Cherit!" I chased him as he scanned the displays.

"A mon-monster! Fenris!" Tersly cried.

"Come back here!" I told my buddy.

"Arf, arf." Fenris ran in and started chasing Cherit too.

"Don't hurt him, Fenris!" I said as he nipped at Cherit's tail.

"Ah, Dante! Help me! Dante!" The white furred animal mash up cried for his human leader.

"Fenris, heel!" A booming voice commanded. The doggy obeyed, but watched Cherit as he landed in my arms and shivered. I petted him.

"Montehue, I can explain." Dante told his friend as he noticed what his dog was watching.

"You better." He frowned.

"Lok became friends with him while he was trying to get to my house to show me the Guardian's journal. He slipped in through the front door to check on him." He omitted a lot.

"And you let him keep it?" He looked at me and Cherit.

"Yeah, I couldn't separate them. Look." I was still petting Cherit and he was purring now.

"I see." He told Dante.

"He's a good boy. He ran away from the Organzation with other monters who didn't want to be evil." I told him.

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I did." Cherit nodded. The man paled.

"He can talk, too." I added. Fenris nudged his master's hand with his nose. He looked at him and stroked the big puppy dog's head.

"He likes making you happy." Cherit told the museum owner.

"Of course he does. He's my dog." He said.

"You can't hear him talking to you?" Cherit tilted his head.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 11

Fenris Is Not Like Other Dogs

"He's not talking." Montehue looked at Fenris and Fenris's tongue lolled out.

"He can't talk like people do, only I can. I meant through the bond." Cherit explained.

"Cher, I don't think he knew Fenris was like you." I told him.

"Bond? What are you talking about?" Tersly asked.

"Oh, um, how'd you explain it? They, uh, use it like a link to communicate. Like a phone, but it's maintained by trust." I remembered.

"So, you trust that-" Montehue started.

"Cherit." Cherit told him.

"…Cherit enough that you can talk to him through your mind now?" He said.

"Yep." I nodded.

"Hmm, well, it seems to work for master-and-pet relationships. Give it a go, Montehue." Dante encouraged.

"What's a pet?" Cherit asked.

"Pets are domestic or tamed animals or birds kept for companionship or pleasure and treated with care." Sophie explained.

"Am… I a pet?" He watched as Montehue tried to connect with Fenris.

"Um…" She looked at me. I shrugged.

"Lok was petting Cherit when he Bonded with him. Maybe you should do that." Dante advised.

"Dante, am I a pet?" Cherit turned to him when he realized we didn't know what to say.

"Yes, you're a good pet, Cherit." Dante said absentmindedly.

Montehue was petting Fenris and he suddenly stopped, "I can hear him now."

"What's he saying?" Dante asked.

"He wants attention." He petted his dog again.

"Not much of talker, are you?" Tersly asked Fenris, petting him. Fenris licked his arm.

"I think the Organization made him like that." Dante said.

"Probably." Montehue agreed.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" A woman's voice yelled, walking toward the Supers' exhibit.

"Cherit, hide." I told him and he went in my bag.

"I rang the bell seven times. I want to buy tickets." She told Montehue.

"I'm sorry. I'll be right there. Everyone, go on." He led her back to the front desk.

We let out our breath and continued looking at the exhibits until we got to a rare and unusual gem one. Tersly said they were going to show it off in a couple nights. Montehue found us and he let us have snacks from the gift shop, saying something about Dante's tab. Dante told us not to take too much. We went back to the safe house and rested.

Lok's POV End

Montehue's POV

That night

"Sir, Lok said Nightshade isn't in Venice anymore! What if she…. Is here?!" Tersly fretted.

"Tersly, we can handle it. We've protected London thousands of times before. And Dante's here. He'll insist on helping no matter what I do." I frowned.

"But she has sidekicks now and they're speedsters! You know you have trouble with speedsters." He scolded.

"I know, but until we know she's here we won't have to worry. You suited up?" I turned and saw my assistant was. He nodded. I gave him a quick peck and he blushed.

"Sir…" He was so adorable.

"Monty." I corrected.

"Monty, please be professional." He requested.

"This is one of those gray areas, getting ready for work." I teased, kissing him again. And again. He started kissing back fiercely.

" _Run?!"_ Fenris asked me, tail in high gear. Tersly pulled away from me, shyly. He had just Bonded with Fenris a few hours ago while giving him a tummy rub.

"Si- Monty, I didn't mean to, um, be so, so aggressive." He stuttered.

"Ters, it's fine. You kiss me however you want. Yes, Fen, we're going on patrol now." I smiled. He stayed still long enough for me to get the saddle on him then let Tersly mount him. He and Tersly dashed off.

" _Master, I take Mate on run, too!"_ Fenris told me proudly.

"I know. Now, let's go to the north side of town." I caught up with them.

Montehue's POV End

Lok's POV

"Dante, are you sure we should patrol tonight?" I asked, adjusting my suit.

"Thunderfist won't mind." He tugged his boot on.

"Are you boys ready yet?" Sophie called.

"Just another minute!" I called back, putting my mask on.

Dante smiled as he looked at himself in the mirror, "Come on, Lok. We better get going before Sophie leaves without us."

"Right!" I agreed and got up. We went to patrol the west side of town.

Lok's POV End

Zhalia's POV

"What do you mean we're not stealing anything tonight?" Harrison asked.

"I can't announce my presence just yet. We got the layout of the museum and the room the exhibit is in. That was our job today. We're taking those gems. We'll go to the arcade tonight." I enticed him.

"Ok." He nodded happily.

"Can we finish dinner?" Den asked, eating his stir fried noodles.

"Yes." I ate my own Chinese food.

Zhalia's POV End


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 12

The Rare Gem Exhibt

A couple nights later

Montehue's Museum

"Ooo, snacks." I grabbed a cheese ball and ate it.

"Snack?" Cherit asked quietly.

"Here you go." I gave him one.

"Lok, focus." Sophie hissed.

"But I want it." I ate more snacks.

"We're supposed to be watching for anything weird." She told me.

"Gimme." Cherit reached for his snacks. I handed him more.

"Stop feeding him that!" Sophie demanded.

"But Sophie!" I frowned.

"Let the boy eat." Montehue clapped me on the shoulder.

"Oof!" I stumbled.

"Hmm." Sophie hummed.

* * *

Dante's POV

"Moom!" A brown haired boy complained.

"We're not going home yet." She told him.

"I'm hungry." He pouted.

"You're always hungry." She pointed out.

 _'That sounds like Purple Lighting and Quickfoot. They always want food.'_ I thought.

Dante's POV End

* * *

"Enjoy the quiet while you can, Lokieboy. I have no doubt this is the night she would come." Montehue told me in a hushed voice. Phoenix warned him that Nightshade might show up.

"Because there's people here?" I asked.

"Because there's _famous rich_ people here. Supervillains love taking things from them. It's like getting an autograph, but with more of a thrill. Nightshade's no exception." He explained.

"Ook." I nodded.

"Lok?" Dante called.

"Coming!" I went to him.

"Our main goal is to protect the gems and the people. It doesn't matter if Nightshade gets away. I want as few injuries as possible. It's going to get sticky. We should probably try to lead the fight outside." Dante thought.

"Okie dokie." I looked at the pretty art.

"Lok, look at me." He said.

"Ok." I did.

"Protecting the gems and the people is our goal. Lead the fight outside if at all possible. Ok?" Dante was staring really intensely.

"Um, ok. Protect the gems and the people." I repeated.

"That's my boy," He praised. I smiled. Then we heard screaming, "Change quickly! I'll meet you out there." He ran off to change.

I found a place to change and made Cherit stay with my clothes. He said he would then laid on them and napped. I laughed a little.

When I got to the fighting, Thunderfist and Quickwit were being taunted by Nightshade, "I haven't seen you this frustrated since I kidnapped Quickwit."

"She's trying to rile you up, Sir!" Quickwit pointed out.

"I know." He gritted his teeth.

"Why are you using a different tactic with him?" Quickfoot asked.

"He prefers red heads." Nightshade smirked.

"Why don't you make your hair red?" He asked seriously.

"You picked real winners, huh?" Thunderfist laughed.

"It doesn't work if he knows it's me." She sighed dejectedly.

"Oh." The brown haired boy nodded.

"Psst, over here!" Sophie called me over, "Help me get these people out while everyone's distracted with their banter."

"Ok." I helped lead the scared exhibit-goers outside to safety.

"THEY HAD SNACKS THE WHOLE TIME?!" Purple Lighting exclaimed after we got back.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" She threatened. The brothers ran to the table and ate all the cheese and little meats on crackers. Nightshade pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing. Thunderfist laughed jollily.

"Their speed must also be their weakness, due to them burning all their calories quicker." Quickwit told Thunderfist.

"So, if they go fast enough, they'll starve themselves?" He asked.

"If their hearts don't fail from beating too fast. Or they could rip muscles from bones. There's also a greater chance of brain damage if they slow down suddenly." The boys stopped eating and looked at the masked red head, slightly afraid.

"Ok, Q, we get it." Dante told him.

"Oh, sorry." He said quietly.

"You're still a geek." Nightshade shook her head at Quickwit.

"Hi, Nightshade." I waved.

"Hello, Puppy." She huffed.

"Why do you want these gems? They're not like jewelry, you can't wear them. And some of them are pretty big." I pointed to the gem the size of a Harry Potter book.

"They're rare and unique. They'll sell in a bidding war. And I want that one for my bookshelf." She pointed to the sparkly green and crystal one.

"Figures you'd choose the green one." Thunderfist smirked.

"Shut it." She growled.

"But they're in the museum for everyone to see them." I said.

"I want them for myself." She sighed.

"That's not fair." I told her.

"Are we really going to let him do this? It's pointless." Thunderfist asked Dante.

"Just let him get it out." Dante whispered back.

"Look, Puppy, I've been a villain longer than you've been alive. I like stealing. It's fun. I'm good at what I do. Ok?" She waited.

"…What if I find you a new hobby?" I asked.

"Oh my god." She sighed.

"I think you'd like extreme sports." I smiled hopefully.

"Boys, attack!" She pointed at us, rubbing her temples.

Purple Lighting tried to trip us up. Mostly everyone dodged. I got tripped, but I had grabbed onto him and made him fall down with me.

"Are you serious?!" He cried, trying to get up again. I wouldn't let him.

"I suppose that works." Quickwit and Fenris ran after Quickfoot. Sophie followed.

Purple Lighting and I grappled for bit before he escaped and I ran after him. We were separated from the group. I guess I passed where Cherit was because I saw a white blur follow me. I got the boy trapped in a corner.

"Why are you Nightshade's sidekick?" I asked him.

"She said she'd take us in if we did. And she did." He told me.

"Why did you need to be taken in?" I frowned.

"We're orphans." He said.

"Oh. But I think the Foundation would want to help you." I told the speedster.

"Ugh! Why are you so goody goody?! She was right. You're trying to convert us to the good side." He growled, frustrated.

"Why are _you_ bad?" I asked.

"I dunno. I just do what Nightshade wants and she feeds us." He shrugged.

"We don't have to fight." I said.

"We don't?" He asked.

"I don't think so." I shrugged.

"Isn't that, like, against the rules?" He frowned.

"D-Phoenix never said so." He never said what to do if something like this happened.

"… Can we go sit down? Running wears me out." He pointed to a bench.

"Sure." I followed him and we sat down.

" _Lok, are you sure this is a good idea?"_ Cherit asked.

" _I don't think he necessarily wants to be bad, he wants a stable home and food."_ I told him.

" _Like your clan?"_ Cherit rubbed his head on my leg.

" _Um, yeah."_ I nodded.

"So, um, hi." He waved.

"Hi!" I smiled.

"Do you like video games?" He asked.

"Yeah! I like shooting games." I told him.

"Me too. Which one's your favorite?" The masked boy asked.

"That's tough. Um…Call of Duty?" I shrugged.

"Cool. I like Halo." He told me.

"That's a good game, too." I smiled.

"I wish there were more snacks." Lighting frowned.

"I only saw the ones on the table." I said.

"Aw." He sighed.

"Maybe you can get more food after this." I smiled.

"Easy for you to say. You're not hungry now." The masked boy whined.

"Solarboy!" Sophie called.

"Quick, fight me!" I whispered and jumped on top of him, knocking him to the ground.

"Uh, ok?" He said and we started grappling. Sophie pulled him off me and then he started to fight her. She wasn't happy at all and got the better of him quickly, using her powers in ways I hadn't seen before. We tied him up and dragged him back to Dante.

"Why do you guys have so much rope? Why not handcuffs?" Purple Lighting asked.

"Do tell, Phoenix." Nightshade smiled at our mentor.

"You can't pick your way out of a rope." He answered.

"You're no fun tonight." She pouted.

"I hate these ropes. I can't get out of them." Quickfoot grumbled.

"Hey, Phee?" Thunderfist asked.

"Yeah?" Dante looked at him.

"You still have Safe Search turned on, right?" He asked.

"I haven't turned it off since." He replied.

"Good. NEVER TURN IT OFF. Especially now with your sidekicks." He looked at us.

"I didn't even think about that. Solarboy, Red Angel, we're going over internet safety when we get home!" Dante called to us.

"Ok!" I answered.

"I hate to agree with superheroes, but they have a good point." Nightshade sighed.

"Why?" The brown masked boy asked.

"Because some people like super villains and superheroes too much. Like, obsession level too much." She explained.

"You mean like superstars?" Purple Lighting added.

"Yeah… Like superstars." She nodded slowly.

The police came a little bit after that and took the super villainess and her sidekicks away. Dante and Thunderfist talked for awhile while we cleaned up. It was hard. Sophie got to look at the paintings, but she yelled at me when I got distracted. That wasn't fair.

"Solarboy?" Quickwit came up to me.

"Yeah?" I looked at him.

"Are you related to Solargirl?" He asked.

"Who's that?" I frowned.

"An Irish heroin with powers like yours. Hang on, let me find a picture." He pulled out his phone and looked up something.

It was a girl wearing a light purple colored mask with metallic pink trim. She had blue eyes like Cathy's and blond hair too. Her suit had a stylized sun in gold on the chest.

"Q, what're you doing?" Dante asked like he knew.

"I-I was just showing him what Solargirl looked like." He squeaked.

"We've been over this, Q. Not everyone with similar looks or powers are related." Dante frowned.

"But just look at them! You can't tell me there's nothing there." He showed him the picture.

He looked at the picture thoughtfully then at me and the picture again. He frowned and hummed as he noticed something, "Cherit!"

"Yes?" He flew over to Dante.

"Shoot Sol's necklace." He asked.

"Ok." Cherit fired his mouth laser at my pendant. It glowed and Dante walked up to me and held the phone up it.

"It's the same." Dante said, numbly.

"What's the same?" Thunderfist asked.

"Solarboy's necklace and Solargirl's symbol." Quickwit explained.

"That Irish girl you think is Solarflare's daughter?" He asked and the redhead nodded.

"Are we going to my mom's?" I asked.

"Yes." Dante told me.

"You shouldn't have said that, Phee." Thunderfist groaned.

"Can we go, Sir?" He asked his boss excitedly.

"Mom said I could visit anytime…" I thought.

"WAIT! You can't do that!" Sophie yelled.

"Angel, superheroes need allies and allies to trust each other." Dante told her.

"What are you saying?" She asked.

"I'm saying that some heroes know other heroes' identities." Dante took off his mask.

Thunderfist smiled and took off his, "You're Montehue, the museum owner!" I recognized him.

"I am." He laughed.

Quickwit was a bit reluctant to show us his face, but Dante encouraged him. It was Tersly, Montehue's assistant. I showed them my face next. Montehue turned to Sophie, "You want me to guess or not?"

"…Fine." Sophie pulled her mask off.

"I knew you didn't just bring some random kids along." Tersly smiled at Dante. He shook his head and mouthed something at the redhead.

"So, Lok, you think your mom will still have us?" Montehue asked.

"Yeah, after I tell her." I nodded.

The museum owner laughed again, "You're refreshing, Lok."

We finished cleaning and then we changed back into our normal clothes. We talked a bit more and then I started getting sleepy so we went back to the safehouse.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 13

To Mom's

We got to my mom's house as the rain began to let up.

"Lok!" Mom opened the door and hugged me.

"Hi, mom." I hugged her back.

"You've grown so tall!" She kissed me on the cheek.

"Well, I can't get any shorter. You look great." I smiled.

"Oh, gosh! I've been cooking all day. I'm a mess." She dusted her shirt off.

"Mom, these are my friends. Sophie..." I introduced her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." She waved.

"Montehue and Tersly..." I continued.

"Hello." The redhead waved.

"And this is Dante." I finished.

"Thanks for having us." He said politely.

"Hm-hmm!" Cherit had his hands on his hips.

"Oh and this is Cherit!" I showed her.

"The pleasure is mine, my lady." He bowed.

Then we went inside and I took off my bag, "It's good to be home. Where's Cathy?" I closed the door.

"Your sister's off at her summer class. Oh, but you all must be starving. I'll whip up some sandwiches." She went to the kitchen and we went to the sitting area.

"Your mother is quiet the hostess, Lok!" Cherit sat on the mantel.

"Mom hasn't always been a housewife, you know." I made a half shurg gesture with my hand.

"That's right; she was a superhero, Solarflare." Sophie said.

"Yeah, I can't believe she told me over the phone and besides, where else would I have gotten my powers?" I asked. Nobody had an answer.

Lok's POV End

Dante's POV

I put down the picture of Mr. and Mrs. Lambert and went to the kitchen. She just put a tea tray on the table, "Thought you might like some help."

"Hm? I would." She started pouring some tea into a cup.

"Allow me," I went to the sandwiches and started making one, "Mrs. Lambert, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Not at all, dear!" She insisted with a motherly tone.

"How do you really feel about Lok becoming a sidekick?" I looked at her.

"Well, I'd caution anyone against making that choice. I know how difficult a life like that can be and how dangerous. Especially after his father, Eathon's, disappearance." She looked at me with a serious gaze.

"And Lok, uh..." I didn't think this through.

"Lok's always been a good boy. A smart boy, like his father. He has to do what he has to do." She told me.

"Hm." I turned back to the sandwich.

"Dante, please, take care of him." She requested.

"Hmm." I nodded and took the plate of sandwiches.

Dante's POV End

Lok's POV

Mom and Dante came back with sandwiches and tea. Sophie thanked them and nibbled her sandwich. Why do girls do that? Mom makes tons of food, there'll be more for her.

Dante cleared his throat, "Um, Mrs. Lambert. We need to ask some things."

"Like what, dear?" She asked.

"Like if Cathy has powers." I added.

"We'll answer that when she gets here." She told me.

"What about his father?" Tersly wanted to know.

"Eathon, he… he is The Guardian. He was friends with the Professor and… Um, I always forget his name." Mom frowned.

"Was it Titanium Crusher?" Dante asked.

"Yes!" Mom shouted, smiling, "Thank you, Dante."

"That's a long name." I said.

"Times were different then, Lok." Sophie explained.

"Your father made that necklace you wear. It was originally mine. He even carved my symbol into. It absorbs light for us to use at night. Sunlight, starlight. It works with any light source." Mom explained.

"It works with my laser." Cherit added.

"Yeah, it gives me a power boost." I smiled.

"Does it work on others?" Tersly asked.

"We haven't tried it." Dante shrugged.

"Try it." I took off my necklace.

"Lok, no. I'm retired." She tried to push it away.

"Please, Mrs. Lambert. It'd be an honor." Tersly smiled shyly.

"Well, if you insist," She put the necklace on and Cherit shot his laser at it. Mom glowed and floated before flying up above us, "This feels great!"

"That's awesome, Mom!" I smiled.

"You're too kind, sweetie." She kissed my head, still flying.

"Aw." Sophie made a gooey cute face at us.

She landed back in her seat and sipped her tea and had a bite of her sandwich, "That was fun."

"So, is it true that your husband could make anything?" Montehue asked after a minute.

"He's fixed a lot of things around the house and they still work great. He liked working with machines more than anything else. But that necklace is proof that he can make anything he wants. He said it was hard though." Mom thought.

"I suppose it would be harder to work outside your comfort zone." Tersly smiled a little.

"How does Dad's power work?" I asked.

"I don't really know. He makes something and then he can telepathically control it and it works how he wants it to. I'm not sure how he would control a rock though." She gestured to my necklace, now back around my neck.

"Neat." I smiled.

"Didn't he have another power?" Sophie asked.

"Yes, but it took years to control fully. He was just getting it under his thumb just before Lok was born. I think it worked best when he was angry or some other powerful emotion. He didn't tell me too much about that one." Mom shrugged.

"Thank you. Anything helps." Montehue smiled.

"I'm sorry I don't know more." Mom apologized.

"It's ok, Mom." I said.

"You're a good boy, Lok." She ruffled my hair.

"Mom…" I sighed. Montehue laughed. Dante smiled.

We ate more and chatted about stuff. It was raining really hard now with thunder and lighting. But I didn't notice as much because Mom was telling stories about me. I was in a chair and Mom was sitting on the arm.

Sophie laughed, "I bet you were adorable!"

"Okay, Mom. I think they've heard enough about me." I took my face out of my hand.

"Oh, I was going to tell them about you and Scarlet next!" She announced.

"No, Mom, please!" I whined.

"Scarlet Byrne?" Dante asked after sipping his tea.

"Who's Scarlet Byrne?" Sophie asked.

"A Huntik Foundation operative. She's good." Dante smiled.

"Long before that, she was Lok's babysitter. He had such a crush on her!" Mom put her hand on my arm.

I held my head in my hand again and groaned, "Thanks, Mom!"

"That's so sweet!" Tersly cooed.

"Lok has good taste. She's very pretty." Dante put his cup on the coffee table.

"Well! Sounds like Scarlet Byrne has all the boys under her spell." Sophie lifted her cup to drink from it when the door opened and Cathy walked in.

"Cathy?" Mom asked.

"It's alright." She helped Scarlet inside.

"Good heavens!" Mom exclaimed.

"Quiet!" Cathy sneaked to the window and looked out it.

"What's going on?" Mom asked seriously.

"Some men in a sedan were following Scarlet. How completely weird! Good thing I drove by." She turned to face us again.

"Scarlet, are you all right, dear? Come, sit down." Mom took her coat.

"I'll be fine, Mrs. Lambert, really," She sat down across from me, "Lok? Ah! Is that you?" She asked.

"Hey, it's good to see you." I smiled and waved.

"Same!" She said nicely.

"Well, if it isn't my globe-trotting little brother! How's it going, Stinker?" Cathy took off her coat and hugged me.

"Hiya, Cath. How's things? Still getting straight A's?" I hugged back.

"Yep!" She ended the hug and laughed, shrugging, "I'm thinking of going to Italy for a little break." She smiled.

"Venice?" I asked.

"Maybe." She smiled again.

"We'll let you settle in before we ask you some things." Dante said.

"What are you all talking about?" Cathy asked.

"Um... These are my friends! That's Montehue and Tersly and Sophie. And that's Dante! And that's..." I accidently gestured to Cherit, who was about to eat a piece of pie, "That's a, uh, um…"

"Wait a minute… That's a monster!" Scarlet shot a fire beam at Cherit, but he jumped off the mantle.

"Scarlet, no powers in the house!" Mom snapped.

"Mom?" I asked.

"Uh-oh." Cathy frowned.

"Cathy, sweetie, it's ok. He got his powers." Mom reassured.

Cathy stopped and thought, "You did it, Stinker! You finally got your powers!" She hugged me tight.

"Cath-y…" I wheezed.

"Oh, sorry." She let go.

"Can we ask you what powers you have?" I asked.

"I have solar beams and I can fly." She smiled.

"Me too!" I said, excited.

"Careful, Lok. Your excitement is contagious." Dante warned.

"Huh?" I looked at him.

"You have another power, empathy or the ability to read or sense the emotions and/or control the emotions or feelings of others. You're more of the influencing kind." Tersly explained.

"Oops." I shrugged.

"We just have to work on it." Dante told me.

"Work on it?" Scarlet repeated.

"Uh…" Dante looked at Mom.

"It's alright, dear. I've known Scarlet for a long time and she's a good person." Mom smiled.

"I- I'm Phoenix. Lok is Solarboy. Sophie…" Dante looked at her.

"Red Angel." She said like she was tearing off a band aid.

"Thunderfist." Montehue smiled.

"Q-Quickwit." Tersly shrunk back in to his seat. Montehue noticed, but he couldn't do anything. Like… like…

"Lok, you quit prying." Montehue scolded.

"I didn't mean to, I didn't know. Don't be mad." I frowned.

"Just get your powers under control. That's a useful power if you use it right. But not on us." He gestured to everyone.

"He's right. You can't use your powers on allies if you want to be a hero." Dante looked at his friend. The larger man ignored him. Was this my fault?

"I think I made it worse." Tersly worried.

"No, it's fine. Now that I know that empathy _is_ his power and not just my imagination, I can find out how to help him." Dante smiled at him.

"Lok, calm down, sweetie. You're ok." Mom hugged me. I hugged back.

"It's like when you were a baby. You always hugged your mom when she came home." Scarlet smiled.

"Aw," Dante jabbed Montehue. Montehue frowned, "He's a momma's boy. And it's cute."

"What superhero are you?" I asked Scarlet.

"I'm Irish Flame." She smiled happily.

"Can I see your costume?" I asked.

"Lok, no." Dante tried.

"No, it's fine." She unbuttoned her shirt and her super suit was green with an orange flame symbol.

We stayed up a bit longer and caught up. Sophie was kinda grumpy, but I think she was getting tired. I was. Montehue and Tersly went to their rooms before we did. They probably wanted to rest a little. Mom kissed me and Cathy good night, Dante smiled at us, and then we went to bed. Cherit followed me to my room and he slept on my bed.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 14

Animal Troubles

After a few days at my mom's, we went home. It was nice to see them. Dante unlocked the door and we went inside. It looked like there was an explosion. The couch was torn open, stuff was knocked over, papers were everywhere, and I think there were dead animals somewhere.

"What happened to my house?!" Dante yelled.

Cherit's leader then walked in, _"Hello, Little one."_

"Why are you here?" Cherit asked.

" _To check on the others. They like all the hidey holes here."_ He explained.

"Lok, what's going on?" Dante asked.

"I guess some of Cherit's clan is here now. They like all the places they can hide." I said.

"Why?" Dante calmed down from his shock.

" _To keep their babies safe."_ The leader told me.

"Is my mate here?" Cherit asked.

"Mate?" Dante repeated.

"I think they had their babies." I shrugged.

"In my house?" Dante asked.

"I dunno." I frowned.

"Come meet my mate, Lok." Cherit jumped off my shoulder and ran after his leader.

I followed them to a closet. The door was open and I saw a purple, two tailed, skunk striped fox-y thing laying on her side and feeding her kits. Some looked like Cherit and others looked like their mama. She looked at me, _"Baby?"_

"This is Lok. He's my friend." Cherit explained.

" _L-Lok?"_ She was sleepy.

"Yes. I'm sorry I couldn't be here." He nuzzled the tired mother.

" _You stay here now and watch the babies."_ She licked his neck.

"Can I pet you?" I asked.

" _Pet?"_ She asked.

"Like this." I scratched behind her ear.

" _Ahh. Very nice. More."_ She leaned into my hand.

"Ok." I kept petting her. She made happy sounds.

I petted her for a bit and went to my room. It was a little messier than I remembered. Dante followed me, "They hardly touched your room."

"How are we supposed to train now? The room is disgusting." Sophie asked.

"I'll explain to the Foundation what's going on and they'll send someone out. They're going to hate me." Dante sighed.

"But it's not your fault." I insisted.

"I'm responsible for the damages to my house. It'll be fine. I've had a perfect record so far. For one of their best agents." Dante smiled a little.

"Is the Foundation for super heroes?" I asked.

"Yes, but they employ normal humans too. I'll have to get you two registered." Dante looked at us.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because they like to know who the new ones are." He said.

"Dante, I talked to my mate and I think she followed my scent here. She missed me." Cherit landed on my shoulder.

"Then how did the others get here?" He asked.

"One of our brothers followed her to keep her safe and he found a nice nesting spot." Cherit told him.

"Then all the smaller creatures wanted to see my house, right?" Dante sighed as my buddy nodded.

We cleaned our rooms as best we could and tried to sleep. It still smelled bad. Dante took us out for breakfast the next morning. Cherit had Dante give him a little cup to keep some food for his mate to try. He scampered off to her after we got home. She liked eggs and sausage. I ate the piece of pancake. Sophie went home after a little bit. She didn't like the smell. Dante called the Foundation on the TV.

"Dante?" A blond man asked.

"Hello, Guggenhiem. I need some help. Lok made friends with some Organization monsters and they took over my house, but they have babies now so you have to careful." Dante explained.

"Who's Lok?" He was confused.

"Hi." I waved.

"That's Lok. He's my sidekick. I have another sidekick but she went home." Dante sighed.

"Dante, you were supposed to tell us when you got sidekicks! What was that about monsters?" He frowned.

"Cherit!" I called.

"Coming!" He flew in and landed on my shoulder.

"This is Cherit. He can talk." I smiled.

"What's going on, Dante?" Guggenhiem glared.

"We're friends now. We don't like the Organization. Dante is going to teach us fight." Cherit explained.

"Ok…" The blond pursed his lips.

"Not all of them look like Cherit. Some are humanoid. Like him." Dante frowned as Cherit's brother came back.

" _Little one? Where did all the food go?"_ He asked.

"Food?" I looked at him.

"Lok?" Dante asked.

"He asked where all the food went." I told him.

"Food? You mean the dead animals?" Dante frowned.

" _Our sisters need raw food now. So the babies can grow."_ He told my mentor, but he couldn't understand.

"It was for our mates." Cherit explained.

"Gugg, can you send someone down to look at my house?" Dante sighed.

"Sure." He nodded then hung up.

"We're going to have to explain everything from the beginning." He turned to me.

"Ok." I sat on the couch.

We waited for the person to come. His name was Peter and we explained how I met Cherit and became Dante's sidekick. He listened and only asked a couple questions. Then we showed him around. The new mommies didn't like him so they hissed and swiped at him. I explained that he was here to look at Dante's house. They still didn't want him near their babies. After awhile, we finished up and Peter left. Dante went to the park.

Lok's POV End

Dante's POV

I never thought letting Lok keep Cherit would end up with the rest of the clan in my house. At most, I thought he'd claw up the couch or have an accident. Now, I have to deal with newborn monsters and their mothers. The babies will probably pee on something before they leave. Or maybe they already did? I had no idea. It all smelled bad.

"Hey- Do I know you?" The woman I bumped into asked sharply.

"Um, I can't place you, but you do look familiar." I said.

"I'm Zhalia Moon." She introduced herself.

"You have two foster sons, right? I think we bumped into each other before. Well, your sons that time." I remembered.

"Oh, yeah. You know that your face is all over the internet, right?" She asked.

"Surprise, I'm the famous superhero expert." I smiled flatly.

"You must get a lot of people asking you about Phoenix." She understood. Maybe not completely, but she understood my struggles.

"Sometimes, they ask about Nightshade." I answered.

"What do you tell them?" She started walking with me.

"I tell them the truth. I know what Phoenix knows. Which is not a lot." Nightshade was still as much of a secret now than when I had first met her.

"Do you swap battle tactics as well?" She snarked.

"Well, I won't stop Phoenix if he asks." I said, half joking.

She paused, "Why are you out here on a weekday? Don't you have superhero stuff to do?"

I flinched a little on inside, "I had to get out of the house. Animals got in while I was gone."

"Oh, my lizard likes bringing me things." Zhalia shared.

"I guess we both have animal troubles then." I smiled.

"Dante?" She said.

"Yeah?" I looked at her.

"I have to get back before the boys wreck the house trying to find food." She frowned.

"Oh, do you want me to walk you home?" I asked.

"No, I can manage. Maybe we'll see each other again. After all, I found your house on Google." Zhalia walked on.

I stood for moment, thinking over what she said. I couldn't decide if she knew where I lived was a good thing or not. I defiantly wanted to see her again. If only to see why she interested me. Almost like… No, not like Nightshade. She was a villain and a flirt. Zhalia was different. Someone I actually had a chance with. If I kept my superhero-ing in check.

Dante's POV End

Zhalia's POV

Dante Vale… he was much kinder and humbler than I thought he would be. A gentleman, really, but kinda sexy. Could he have been the one I saved from the Suits awhile back? It must have been him. Dante looks good in his coat. He's pretty close to Phoenix though, but a little risk might be worth it.

Zhalia's POV End


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 15

Naming the Clan

Peter and some other workers helped clean up Dante's house. It took a long time. The mothers weren't happy unless one of us was with them. They let me play with the babies. Except the moth thing. It kept wrapping around me and making me go out of the closet. I don't think it liked me.

I was on the couch with Cherit when I thought of a great idea. I would give all of Cherit's clan names! I got up and went to Cherit's mate and tried to think of a name for her.

"Lok, what are you doing?" Dante asked.

"I'm trying to think of a name for her." I smiled.

"Good idea." He stood up and was facing the leader.

" _Why do we need names?"_ He asked.

"I dunno." I shrugged.

"What'd he ask?" Dante looked at me.

"Why they need names." I told him as I played with a red Cherit baby. Cherit was the first so the babies that look like him are Cherits.

"So we get your attention better. Sophie and I don't have a bond with any of you yet and that makes it hard to your attention." Dante explained.

" _I guess so."_ He shrugged.

"How did Cherit's mate get in?" I asked.

" _She sprung the lock open."_ Cherit's leader replied.

"Imma name you Springer." I scratched her chin.

" _Ok."_ She purred.

Dante started helping me name them. He wrote down all their name next to their pictures. They didn't know what a camera was or to stay still. Sophie helped me with the animal-ier ones and we got them to sit with treats. They liked meat. We went to the park to name the ones that weren't at Dante's.

Naming everyone in the clan was harder than I thought, but we did it even though it was a month long process. Sophie named the woman like twins Sabriel and Scorcerel, the green lady Feyone, the man with wings and no arms Icarus, and the lion centaurs Hoplite. Dante named the leader Caliban, the earthy wind elemental Ariel, the one in gold armor Elf King Oberon, Oberon for short, a gray bird with a tiny helmet Solwing, and her mate Sunhawk. I already named Cherit and Springer, but I named the moth thing Kipperin, a blue knight Freelancer, and the two fairies Solar and Lunar. Some of the others were too shy and wary of us so we didn't get to name them yet. We decided that they would be called Titans because Titan is much nicer than monster. Dante said people call them monsters. We taught them to respond to their names. It took a long time before they got it down.

Sophie was getting along with Sabriel and her sister. Dante still needed me to talk with Caliban, but it was going great. They'll bond in no time! Solwing liked sitting on Dante's shoulder and nipping at his ear. Everyone was starting to hang out and become friends. The babies liked us, well, they bit Dante a couple times, but other than that, it was good. It turns out Kipperin likes to sleep a lot. He doesn't hate me.

But one morning, Sabriel burst in during breakfast, _"They took my baby! The evil humans took my baby!"_

 **I know it's short but it was time to give the Titans their names.**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 16

Visting the clan

"Lok?" Dante asked.

"Someone took Caliban Jr!" I told Dante in a rush.

"Lok, slow down." Sophie told me.

"Sabriel said evil humans took Caliban Jr." I said before I was picked up by the sad mother.

"The Organization." Dante frowned and Sabriel hissed.

"How would they know where to look?" Sophie asked.

"I dunno." I shrugged.

"Did any other babies get taken?" Dante asked.

" _I dunno. It was all so fast."_ Sabriel held me a bit tighter.

"She doesn't know." I told them.

"I guess we have to go to the park after breakfast." Dante sighed.

Sophie got Sabriel to put me down so I could eat. Then we went to the park. We ran into a lady.

"Zhalia, hi." Dante smiled at her.

"Who are these?" She pointed to us.

"This is Lok and Sophie. They're my, uh, I'm teaching them stuff." Dante smiled.

"Hi, let's be friends." I smiled at her. Sophie sighed.

"I'll try." Zhalia said slowly.

"It was nice meeting you. Dante, we have to go find Lok's cat, remember?" Sophie hissed.

"Dante, give me your number." Zhalia requested.

"What?" He asked.

"Your phone number. I want it." She elaborated.

"Oh, yeah sure." He told her it and she put it in her phone.

"Good luck finding that cat." She left.

"Bye bye!" I waved.

We went to the Titans' nest spot thing and found Caliban.

" _They took our children, Dante._ " Caliban growled.

"I know. What happened?" Dante asked.

"Did you bond with Caliban?!" I asked, smiling.

"No, but I know he wants his baby back." Dante said, kinda sad.

" _We were sleeping when the babies started crying out. We tried to fight the bad people but they shot us with sleepy bees and when we woke up, all our babies were gone."_ Caliban told him. Cherit repeated it.

"Sleepy bees?" Sophie asked.

"I think he means tranquilizer darts." Dante said.

"They couldn't have taken them far." I told Dante.

"What do you remember about the people?" He asked.

" _They had dark eyes and a black stripe on their white bellies."_ Caliban thought.

"Like a skunk?" I asked.

"Black stripe… white belly. Hmm." Sophie touched her chin.

"It's a Suit. Their tie looks like a stripe. And I guess they were sunglasses on early morning missions too." Dante said.

"So, what'd we do now?" I asked.

"We go home and ask Gugg to find where they could have taken the babies." Dante said.

"Ok." I said as I was picked up again.

"Sabriel, put Lok down." Sophie frowned.

" _No."_ She shook her head stubbornly.

"We'll get your baby back, but we need some time. And we need Lok with us." Dante told her.

" _Human Brother likes being held."_ She sniffed.

"I don't mind. I'll join you guys later." I said.

"Lok's not a baby." Sophie told her.

" _He is squishy and cute."_ Sabriel hugged me.

Cherit told Sophie what she said, "Sophie, Lok will be fine. Besides, I don't think she wants to let him go yet." Dante noted.

"I guess it would be bad to try to take him from her." Sophie frowned.

"I'll see you at home." I waved.

"Bye." Dante and Sophie left.

I stayed with Sabriel and the clan for a couple hours. It was neat. But everyone was sad. I told them we would find their babies soon. Caliban got her to let me go when I got hungry and I went back to Dante's . He said that Guggenheim tracked the Organization plane to Prague.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 17

Rescue

"You're not going to stay behind, are you?" Dante asked.

" _Our children need us."_ Caliban insisted. Cherit repeated it.

"You do what I say, alright?" Dante sighed.

" _Ok._ " He nodded.

"Good. Now, this is probably going to be the most dangerous mission to date. We're breaking into Organization headquarters and freeing the babies. The Foundation has a basic map of it, but we're basically filling in the details as we go." Dante explained.

"Ok." Sophie nodded.

"Should I call my mom?" I asked.

"You're gonna be fine, Lok." Dante said.

"Ok." I nodded.

We prepared and got on the Foundation plane to Prague. Caliban and Oberon didn't like taking off and landing. Cherit tried to comfort them. We snuck the Titans across the city to the safe house. Then we watched their headquarters for a little bit to see how they guarded it.

Sophie and I snuck wearing suits while Dante and the Titans went in another way. We wore our super suits underneath them so we met up again, we'd be ready to free the clan's babies. Sophie checked her phone and we went to the heart of the building and then made a lot of confusing turns and found Dante waiting for us.

"I found them in the next room over, but we have to hurry. The babies smell Caliban and they want out." He said and we tossed our suits off and he decided to burn them.

I got my mask on my face and followed them. The babies tumbled over each other and cried for Caliban. He tried to smash the door down, but it wasn't working.

"Caliban, stop." Dante told him. He stopped.

"It needs an 8 digit passcode!" Sophie told us.

"Use this." He gave her a box with a cable attached to it. "Sol, Oberon, come with me."

We followed Dante and found another room of Titans. They seemed wary about us.

" _These humans are good. Nice."_ Oberon shared his memories of us with them.

We started freeing as many as we could before the alarms went off. A lady Titan in a sliver domino mask and armor used her powers to help us. One of the last, and biggest, cells held an orange bird the size of Dante.

"Come on, come on…" Dante watched the box as the numbers sped by.

My cell door clicked and I opened all the way for the Titan inside.

" _Thank you, young male."_ The green half goat half elf told me as he ran out to join the others.

"We gotta get out of here soon!" I reminded Dante.

"I know, but I'm almost done." He said as the door opened. "Go! Go outside, follow your brothers!"

The bird squawked weakly.

"It's too weak." I said.

" _She gets energy from light and heat."_ The lady Titan told me.

"D- Phee, she's like a solar panel. She needs light to move." I told him.

"Here goes nothing." He walked in the cell and held some fire over her body. It went in her like magic. Dante started sweating.

"Hey, stop it! He needs his fire too!" I yelled at the bird.

She stopped taking it and nuzzled him. "I know you're sorry. Let's get out of here."

We went out and ran as far as we could before getting stopped by some suits. The bird set them on fire.

"Good girl." Dante petted her and we kept moving.

Then we got to the surface… and the fighting. Suits were using evil Titans and trying to take the babies and the Titans, the Titans were trying to save the babies.

Lok's POV End

Dante's POV

"Ok, Sol- Solarboy, what's wrong?" Heat emitted off of him.

"They're hurting the babies." He gritted his teeth.

"We can't save the babies until we stop the Suits." I explained.

A particularly loud cry was all it took to set Lok off. His eyes burned white and he flew up into the air and starting raining hellfire on them. Flesh burned and shrieks filled the room. Our Titans fled while the evil ones were incinerated or something close to it. Then Lok punched a hole in the roof with a giant fist to get more sunlight. The late afternoon sun gave him more power than his necklace could ever store. More suits, some higher level, rushed in. He smacked them all away.

"YOU COME AFTER MY TITANS AGAIN, YOU'LL REGRET IT!" Lok roared before smashing more of the building.

"Solarboy, stop it! The Titans are safe!" Sophie yelled at him.

He didn't answer.

"We have to calm him down before he kills everyone!" She told me.

"I'm gonna go hug him." I told her.

"What?!" She exclaimed.

"I'm fireproof." I reminded.

"The sun is thousands time hotter than any flame." She said.

"He won't calm down if we don't intervene." I flew up to Lok. Lok's powers made him like a magnifying glass.

"Sol." His eyes flicked to me and then back to whatever he was smashing with his light hand. "You gotta stop." He didn't. "Lok, they're ok." I said softly. Still nothing.

I hugged him and immediately felt my chest burning. I ignored the pain and stroked his hair, which was also hot. If my touch won't get to him, maybe the smell of burning spandex will. Lok slumped and I had to hold him up.

"Come on!" I yelled to Sophie and we flew away.

"How is he?" She asked.

"Asleep. He basically had a temper tantrum back there. His skin is a bit red. I'll have them check him out when we get to safety." I said.

"What about you?" She pressed.

"I've had worse." I said.

"Dante." She frowned.

"We can't stay in Prague too much longer." I told her.

We went to the safe house for a quick patch job. The healer there scolded me. She healed my burns and said Lok tore up his throat, quite literally, and his hands were bad as well. The redness would fade a few weeks. Caliban and the other Titans were playing with the babies. Cherit said Caliban didn't want to go to the airport without us. There were too many Titans to take on one plane so I split them into two groups. The babies went with Caliban and Oberon. The new Titans would go on another plane. Deciding who would go what plane was harder. Sophie and I couldn't be on the same plane, but Lok had just overtaxed himself. But would the new Titans listen to Sophie and Cherit? I didn't know, but it was the best option.

Lok woke up and I told him what we were doing and then we snuck them to the airport and took them home.

Dante's POV End

 **There's gonna be more slice of life(dates, stuff with the Titans) in between all the fight heavy arcs. It's so hard to write good fight scenes. I just can't keep up.**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 18

The new Titans

We kept the Titans at a local safe house for the time being and went home to sleep. I heard snarling and growling when I woke up. I tried to get out of bed, but I couldn't. Something was on top of me.

" _Hello!"_ The bird from yesterday chirped.

" _How did you get here?"_ I yawned. My throat still hurt too bad to talk.

" _We followed your scents_." She ruffled her feathers.

" _Let's go get breakfast."_ I smiled. She didn't know what that meant. _"Food."_

" _Food!"_ She squawked and hopped off my bed and waited for me to get up.

We went downstairs and saw Dante trying to stop a fight between the new lady Titan and Sabriel.

"Morning, Lok. Drink lots of water and juice, no soda." He told me as the Titans began growling again. "Behave, both of you!"

" _Stranger!"_ Sabriel growled.

" _Be nice, Sabriel. They helped save the babies."_ I thought to her.

She growled again but more like a warning this time. Then she went to check on the other Titans.

" _Thank you."_ The lady in the mask smiled.

" _No problem."_ I smiled back.

"Ok, after breakfast, since some of them didn't stay put, we'll see what the new Titans are like." Dante told me and I nodded.

We ate and then Sophie came over. Dante had already named the bird Phoenix and the lady Fairy Queen Titania. Sophie liked those names. There were a few more Freelancers and Hoplites, they'd like the others. The bouncy one I named Tolivane and the goblin with scorpion tail was dubbed Venadek. The dog Titan was named Bulreguard and the plant monster Wildwood Druid.

"Hey, wait, one of you is missing. The green one with goat legs, where is he?" Dante asked.

Oberon came back in with the Titan we were looking for. The gold armor Titan dropped him on the ground and he pouted as the book he was holding fell out of reach.

" _Here he is, Human Leader."_ Oberon went back into the crowd.

Dante picked up the book, Faeries and other Magic Creatures: An Illustrated Guide, and looked at the page that was open. He smiled. "You recognize yourself, huh, Puck?"

He nodded, smiling. _"Me!"_

"Alright, I'm gonna go call the safe house, tell them you're all ok and we'll take you back tonight." Dante said, giving Puck the book back.

It was quiet for while the Titans lazed around the house for a bit. Until Puck finished his book and started exploring.

"Hey, be careful around the food! And how did you get my shoe!" Dante took his mangled shoe from Bulreguard and kicked Puck out of the kitchen.

"He's never seen this stuff before." I croaked out.

"Shh, rest your voice." Dante said. "Puck, you stay where I can see you! He has to learn how to behave."

" _Puck has always been curious. He likes to take things apart."_ Titania told me.

I thought for a moment and then went to my room. I got some puzzles and went back down stairs. Puck edged toward me when I put them on the table.

" _What's that?"_ He hopped on the table.

" _They're puzzles. You take it apart and put it back together."_ I showed him a rubix cube. _"Not literally, though. You see the different colors? You make all them match."_

He took the cube and started fiddling with it, sitting on the table like a kid.

"Good idea, Lok. This will show us what he can do." Dante told me. "And keep him busy until it's time to take them home."

" _He will get bored again and wander."_ Titania said.

" _That's ok."_ I said.

"I'm gonna go see what else he got into. Sophie, keep an eye on Puck!" Dante called.

"Ok!" She yelled back.

"Go lie down, Lok. Your powers are out of whack and you're hurt." He left.

I went to the couch and lied down. Cherit came and rested on my tummy. I woke up a little while later when Guggenhiem was on the TV. "Dante, you said Lok used the same light constructs that his father showed signs of before he disappeared. Villains will want to use him. He has to go into hiding."

"I know he does, but he's the only who can talk with the Titans." He explained. "And he's still hurt from our last mission."

"We won't send him far. He'll be taken care of. Pack his bags and take him to the safe house tonight." Gugg said.

"I was going there anyway. The Titans we left there decided to come visit today." Dante looked at me. "Afternoon, Lok. Did we wake you?"

I shook my head.

"Ok, so you're gonna have to go into hiding for a little bit. Do you remember how you got hurt?" I frowned. "That was a new power. You used the sunlight to make giant fists. If you get better with that, you could be very powerful."

I nodded.

We ate dinner and then Dante helped pack my bags. My hands were still sore. We took the Titans to the safe house and we met the Titans that stayed put. Sophie named the water Titan Enfluxion and the warrior in red and gold armor Templar. There was another Feyone and a fish horse we called Kelpie. Then I had to wait there while they sent someone to take me to the place I was going to stay. I told the Titans to stay at the safe house unless they got permission to go goutside. Then the lady I was waiting for came and took me away.

 **I kinda got too focused on the super hero stuff and not enough on the Zhante stuff so I'm gonna try to find a balance.**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 19

Coffee

Dante's POV

"Hey, glad you could make it." I smiled as Zhalia sat down.

"Did more animals get in your house?" She asked.

"It wasn't as bad as last time." I ordered a coffee and she did too. "I hope I'm not interrupting your day or anything."

"The boys are at school and I could use an actually _smart_ adult's company. Did you ever find that boy's cat? Luke?" She asked.

"Lok. Yeah, we did." I said.

"What are you teaching them, Lok and Sophie, anyway?" Zhalia asked.

"They're interns from the Foundation." I said.

"Oh." She nodded.

"So, what do you do for a living?" I asked.

"Professional hacker and program designer. I get paid to test security systems." Zhalia told me.

"That's quite the skill set." I smiled.

She waited. "Normally, people would have more to say."

"Not everyone is evil and spiteful." I shrugged.

She chuckled and it was a pretty sound. I sipped my coffee. We sat in silence for a few minutes. A group of tourists were chatting too loud and taking pictures of everything.

"… Phoenix launched an attack on an Organization hideout." One said.

"I heard they _took_ some monsters." Another added.

"What do you know about it?" Zhalia looked at me.

"That's not my area." I shook my head.

"I had to try." She shrugged. "What you think about that monster rumor? Would he really take the Organization's monsters?"

"Maybe some of them ran away during the fight. I don't think the Organization would treat them nicely." I shrugged.

"I guess so." Zhalia hummed, drinking her coffee.

"What'd you do for fun?" I asked.

"Playing with Gareon, my lizard, working out, and getting out of the house. What about you?" She asked.

"I try to stay home after I come back from my expeditions and interviews. Play some video games when I can-"

"You don't look the type." She smiled coyly.

A familiar shiver went down my spine. No, this is Zhalia! Not Nightshade! "I have to be fit." I said lamely.

"It'd be a shame if you weren't." Zhalia's lips were a pretty shade of pink.

"But I'm not so there's no need to worry." I smiled.

"Maybe I should join you some time. See if I can improve anything." She teased.

"Sounds great." I nodded. She laughed and I knew I should have been embarrassed, but I couldn't. Her laugh was magical.

"The famous Dante Vale isn't immune to flirting after all…" She mused.

"It's almost like I'm human." I answered sarcastically.

"Almost." Her lips relaxed into a more comfortable smile. Then she looked at her watch. "I better get going. The boys won't do their homework otherwise."

"Alright. See you again?" I watched as she paid for her drink, standing up.

"Like I would give up the chance to talk to someone who actually has wit." She left.

I grinned and finished my coffee.

Dante's POV End

 **I don't want to make this too long, but I don't want to rush things either.**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 20

The Foundation attack

Zhalia's POV

I got the boys to do their homework. And then I let Gareon out of his cage. Not that he stayed in it. Gareon followed me to my room and laid on my lap. I scratched his head. He purred. I thought about our coffee date then sighed. Klaus wasn't going to be happy about losing all those monsters. It took a lot of work to train them.

My cell phone rang and I answered it. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"No, Klaus. I just got home." I said. "Is this about the Foundation attack?"

"Very perceptive. Yes, but there is something I want you to see. Something I can't send over email." He told me. "And darling?"

"Yes?" I asked.

"Bring your sidekicks and pet." He hung up.

I waited until dinner to tell the boys we were going to Prague Friday evening. It came and we got ready to leave. Gareon didn't want to go in his carrier, it always meant the vet, but I got him to. We got to the backup headquarters.

Klaus was waiting for us. "Hello, darling."

Den and Harrison frowned.

"Den, Harrison, this is my adopted father, Klaus." I introduced, letting Gareon out of his carrier. He climbed up my shoulder and rested there.

"Hi." They waved.

"Come; let's go to the surveillance room." He led the way.

The halls were chaotic; people were going back and forth, trying to room for everything. The Foundation had hit us harder than they may realize. We lost all our main lab equipment and weapons. Plus the all monsters that escaped. And I had no idea why.

Klaus sat down at the monitor. "This is all the footage and audio that was sent from the main system before it wiped itself clean."

The first thing he played for us was an audio clip.

 _"I found them in the next room over, but we have to hurry. The babies smell Caliban and they want out."_ Phoenix said then he burned something.

There was loud crying then banging in the next clip. I barely heard their footsteps as Phoenix told 'Caliban' to stop. He did then Red Angel discovered the number pad and told the others it needed an 8 digit passcode.

 _"Use this."_ Phoenix gave her something. _"Sol, Oberon, come with me."_

Then next clip was a video. Sol, as it turned out, was Solarboy. Oberon must have been the gold covered monster. The monsters in the cells were wary until Oberon did something. They freed all of them. A female monster had stayed behind and used her powers to help them. Phoenix got the biggest cell open and encouraged the monster bird to go. It squawked weakly.

 _"It's too weak."_ Solarboy said then looked at the female monster. _"D- Phee, she's like a solar panel. She needs light to move."_

 _"Here goes nothing."_ He walked in the cell and held some fire over her body. It went in her. Phoenix started sweating.

 _"Hey, stop it! He needs his fire too!"_ Solarboy yelled at the bird.

She stopped taking it and nuzzled Phoenix. _"I know you're sorry. Let's get out of here."_

The next video was on the ground floor. Monsters and Suits were fighting to keep the freed monsters from escaping. Phoenix and Solarboy showed up a few minutes. There was too much noise to hear what they were saying and some the hidden microphones were broken as well.

But something set Solarboy off and his eyes and hair burned white and he flew up into the air, raining hellfire on them. Flesh burned and shrieks filled the room. Some monsters fled while others were incinerated. Then Solarboy punched a hole in the roof with a giant fist to get more sunlight. The late afternoon sun gave him more power than his necklace could ever store. More suits, some higher level, rushed in. He smacked them all away.

 _"YOU COME AFTER MY TITANS AGAIN, YOU'LL REGRET IT!"_ He roared before smashing more of the building.

The footage cut out.

"I don't understand. What's all that mean?" Harrison asked.

"Well, my boy, what it means is overall is that the Foundation has monsters now and monsters that can reproduce. However, that is not what we are focusing on." He rewound the clips to when they freed the monsters in the cells. "What is this monster doing to calm the others? And-" He went to part where Solarboy looked at the female monster. "How does he understand them?"

"What's Gareon and the boys have to do with this?" I asked. Gareon woke up at the sound of his name and nudged my cheek. I got out his treats and gave him one.

"I want to know if this is an isolated incident or not. I want to see if you or boys could understand them." Klaus said.

"But we don't know how he did it." Den said.

"Yes, but that is why I will monitor your progress personally. You will choose one monster to start training within a few weeks. Zhalia, have you heard a peep from Gareon?" He looked at me.

"No." I shook my head.

"Perhaps in time…" He said.

"Wait, where will training take places? We can't come out here every week." I thought.

"In one of the Italian braches. I will try to get as close as possible, but Venice is Foundation territory." Klaus told me.

I nodded. "Is that everything?"

"Not quite." He played the clip of Solarboy destroying the building. "I want him brought here alive."

Zhalia's POV End


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 21

Dungeon

Third Person

In a castle dungeon, a man was in a cell. He was weary and hungry. The projector in the next room turned on. It showed a superhero named Solarboy. The news footage culminated in him destroying a building with a giant fist of sunlight.

"I knew that you were with Solarflare, but you had children too?" A fat man in a cream suit asked.

The man snarled. "Leave them alone!"

"Your son has gotten our main headquarters captured. And all of our lab equipment." He passed a blueprint through the bars.

The prisoner unfurled it. "I won't rebuild this! I could have cured both of you by now, but you got greedy!" He looked away for a moment. "If we had gone after the Amulet of Will like I wanted, this wouldn't have happened to you or- Metz…"

"Don't you _dare_ blame this on me!" His ring flared menacingly. "You have six months to get the monster making machine operational."

He left. The prisoner watched the news footage before it was cut off. "Be careful, Lok."

Third Person End


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 22

Breakthroughs

Lok's POV

"Concentrate, Lok. Pick up the spoon." A telekinesis instructor told me. It was the closest thing they could find to help me control my powers.

I shook my head. I was tired and I couldn't do it anymore. I kept melting the spoon. I missed everyone. I wanted to go home. I wanted to see Cherit's and Springer's babies again. They must have gotten big. Did they remember me? How long would I be stuck here- forced to try and lift a SPOON?!

A metallic snap made me focus again. The spoon was broke into a hundred different pieces. And not all the pieces were on the table. Some were in the wall and on the celling. The instructor had made a invisible shield.

"Ok, so how about break time?" He asked.

Lok's POV End

Dante's POV

"No, Puck, that's not a puzzle! It just has, see, papers." I showed him the case files and he grabbed for them. "No, not reading papers."

He stamped his hoof and reached for it. I put them back in the safe and locked it. He waited until I had left to try and open the safe. I picked him and took him to the playpen. He had been acting up since he learned Lok wasn't coming home until the Organization's search had slowed. I got some puzzles for him, but he was pouting now. He wanted Lok back. They all did.

I went to the living room. Sophie was reading on a book on strengthening psychic powers. She thought it might help us develop a bond with the Titans. I was ready to try it. Relying on Cherit as our go-between was cumbersome. The researchers at the safe house were trying to teach them how to communicate through writing or Morse code, but they were still learning the alphabet. The easiest way to talk with them was through the bond. Solwing landed on my shoulder. I scratched her feathers.

"How're the chicks?" I asked.

" _Getting big. Soon they fly and find food."_ She leaned into my hand. _"More pets, pets nice."_

"Uh huh, that's great- I heard you. I heard you…" I stopped scratching.

"Who did you hear? There's only… You did it!" Sophie hugged me. "Teach me."

"I don't know how I did it. Petting has to be a key part of it. And maybe… genuinely wanting to connect." I thought.

Solwing nudged my cheek and I petted her.

Dante's POV End

Third Person

Three people were across the street, looking at Dante's house through binoculars.

"What's going on in there? You know we can't see passed the wards like you can." A blue green haired girl asked.

"They're excited about something. It has to do with that monster bird." The man took the binoculars away from his face, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "All these Foundation wards are giving me a headache."

"You know, we've been watching them for a while now and… they haven't done anything. The monsters." She slowly stated. "They act differently than the Organization's. Right, Dellix?"

"They're not different than the Organization's, Lane! That's the only place they could have come from!" The first man snapped.

"Sir, Lane's right. They are different from the ones we know. They play and groom. They haven't attacked either them like the monster do with their handlers." The Jamaican man, Dellix, frowned lightly.

"I will admit that attack on Organization seemed too spontaneous to sanctioned by the Foundation, but Dante clearly knows more than he lets on. He's too good at teaching Sophie to be a normal human." Lucas scowled.

"Where'd that boy go? I haven't seen him in awhile." Lane asked.

"He's probably in hiding. Like Sophie should be." Lucas growled. "I've had enough for today. Let's go home."

"Yes, sir." They stood up.

Lucas casted a spell and they disappeared.

Third Person End


End file.
